The Map That Led Home
by ElectricAmethyst
Summary: This story starts exactly when The Journal episode ended, when Arnold found the map. (Chapters re-written and fixed)
1. Prologue

"GRANDMA! GRANDPA! YOU'VE GOTTA SEE THIS! I FOUND A MAP!" Arnold cried as he got up from the boarding house stoop and ran into the building. He ran up the stairs, and slammed into his grandparent's bedroom. They were sitting on their bed, reading, when Arnold came crashing in.

"YOU GUYS! I found a map! There is a map in the journal!" Arnold yelled, waving the map around.  
"Hold on, Shortman, calm down. Now, what is it you found?" Grandpa said, calmly.  
"I...I was sitting on the stoop, and I was looking at the journal. I got to the very last page, and I realized that the last page was stuck to ANOTHER page! I un-stuck it and it revealed a map of San Lorenzo! You don't...realize...I mean...THIS MIGHT BE THE MAP OF THE ROUTE MY PARENTS TOOK!"

Phil and Gertie exchanged glances, taking in what their young grandson had just told them.

"Arnold, that map could be of anywhere," said Grandma.  
"Yes, Arnold, it may be your dad's map, but that doesn't mean that the map leads to where they are now," said Grandpa.  
"But...there could be a chance, right?" Arnold said, quietly.  
"Yes, but there's always a chance of anything, Shortman."  
"Grandpa, you can't just sit there without a thought in your mind that this map could lead to my parents. You know it could be true!"

Grandpa sighed. Arnold handed him the journal and showed him the map. Grandpa then proceeded to overlook the map.

"So? Do you think it could be legit?" Arnold asked, hopeful.  
"I think that we all need to get some sleep, and look over this in the morning. We're all tired, and it is getting late. We've been reading this journal all day, and your mind is racing," said Grandpa.  
"But Grandpa!"  
"I'm going to keep this with me, so you won't be up all night looking at it and worrying about it. We'll look it over tomorrow." Grandpa then took the journal and closed it, and put it in the dresser drawer next to his bed. He took out a key, and locked the drawer.

Arnold looked at it longingly, sighed, then got up to leave the room.

"Well, okay, I guess. Goodnight Grandma, goodnight Grandpa," Arnold said.  
"Night, Shortman," Grandpa said.  
"Sweet dreams, my dear," said Grandma.

Arnold left the room, in deep thought. Why had his grandpa blown off the big news? He was so excited when they were reading the journal that day. Why wasn't he excited when there might had been a chance of finding his parents?  
Why did he lock the journal away? He said Arnold could keep it. Now he had taken it away.

Arnold realized that he wasn't going to see that journal the next day. His grandparents weren't going to look over it. The discussion had been closed.

Arnold pulled down the stairs to his bedroom. As he climbed the stairs, his anger grew.  
What was his grandparents hiding? Arnold got ready for bed and tried to go to sleep. But sleep wouldn't come. He lay there, staring at the stars above him.  
Arnold was going to get that map back, and find out why his grandparents weren't letting him discuss it. He was going to do it, and no matter what, he would find out.  
This was just the beginning.


	2. Decisions

As Arnold sat on his rooftop, wrapped in a blanket, he thought about the events of the day. It was the anniversary of his parents going missing. He found his dad's journal. He found out how his parents met, and how he was born. He found out how much his parents didn't want to leave him. But they had to.  
He found out that they should have come back...and that something happened to them and prevented them from doing so.

The rooftop was nice and quiet, with the sky full of stars. As Arnold gazed up at the beautiful sight above him, tears started forming in his eyes. He tried to blink them away, but more just kept coming. Although he was a baby when they left, he remembered his parents, and he missed them more than anything in the world. He would give anything to meet them again.

Arnold stayed on the rooftop for hours, thinking about what was in that journal, and how the information impacted his life. He wondered if any of that information had hidden clues about the whereabouts of his parents. If his dad had known something like this would happen.  
Arnold just couldn't figure out why his grandparents wouldn't let him delve any deeper into the mystery.

Arnold must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew, it was daytime.  
It was a nice, warm morning, birds chirping and the sky clear and blue. No clouds in sight. Arnold should be happy, for it was Saturday, and he was supposed to play baseball at Gerald Field today with the gang. But he was just as depressed as last night. He sighed as he got up, stiff from sleeping on the roof. He stretched and opened the window to his room.  
No one had noticed that he hadn't been in his room all night. It must still be early, then.  
Arnold looked at his potato clock and it read 7:16am. Arnold changed from his pajamas to his normal outfit of jeans, plaid shirt and thin green-blue sweat shirt. He made sure he had his cap that his dad gave him, his shoes and his baseball bat, and he was off.

Down in the kitchen, Pookie was making bacon. Abner was sitting under the table, squealing and oinking, probably realizing what Pookie was cooking. Arnold sunk down into one of the kitchen table chairs and dropped his head on the table.

"Good morning, Arnold! Want some bacon?" asked Pookie, very loudly. She was grinning from ear to ear, just like every morning. She held out the frying pan, and poured a whole heap of bacon onto a plate and shoved it in front of Arnold.

"No thanks, Grandma," Arnold said, hoarsely.  
"Why not? What's wrong, Arnold?" she asked.  
"Nothing. Just a bad night. I didn't sleep well and I had some bad dreams."  
"Oh, Arnold. You're probably just stressed out about your ball game today."  
"Why would I be stressed? I play ball every Saturday."  
"When did you start doing that?"  
"Grandma. I've only been playing ball with my friends every week since I could walk."  
"Oh? My, oh my, Arnold. You're getting so big. Eat your bacon, kiddo. You're a growing boy!"  
"Uh, okay, Grandma. Whatever you say..."

Pookie walked back to the stove, continuing to make random breakfast items. Eggs, hash-browns, even Jello, for some reason. Arnold pushed away the bacon and left the kitchen. The whole boarding house was extremely quiet. All the boarders were either sleeping or they were out working. Or just in their rooms, keeping to themselves. It was Saturday. But that didn't really mean anything around here. Arnold had a few hours before he had to go to Gerald Field. He didn't really know what to do, until it dawned on him.  
The journal.

He ran up the stairs to his grandparent's bedroom. He looked around, listened for anyone who could be near, and he slowly turned the door knob. Good. His grandpa wasn't in here. He was probably with Oscar or Ernie or something. Arnold closed the door behind him and tip-toed to the beside dresser. He knew this was a big invasion of privacy, but he had to have that map. He got to the dresser and realized it was locked. Great, what now? He scanned the room for any place a key would be. It was his Grandpa. It would be in the most simple place in the world. He thought for a minute and realized, DUH, the lamp on the dresser!

He lifted the lamp, and lo and behold, there was a blue key. Arnold grinned with anticipation.  
He trembled as he turned the key, opened the drawer and pulled out the journal. He opened the journal to the back, and thankfully, the map was still there. He sat and looked at it for a while and then realized, his grandpa would notice that the journal was gone.

Arnold thought quick and then ripped the map right out of the journal. He cringed as he did this, because it was his dad's, but if it meant saving his parents, then well, whatever. Arnold folded the map and stuck it in his pocket of his plaid shirt. He replaced the journal back in the drawer, locked it up, and put the key back. There. Now no one would know he was here, unless his grandpa looked at the back of the journal...but that's not a worry right now.

Arnold needed to figure out what he was going to do next.

"What would my dad do...?" Arnold said out loud. By the things he heard his grandpa read from the journal, he tried to figure that out. But nothing came to mind. He needed to talk to someone. He needed to talk to Gerald. Maybe he could help. It was worth a try.

So Arnold ran back downstairs, yelled goodbye to his grandma, and went outside. It was May, and there was only a week left in school. The weather was getting pretty warm, but manageable. He could still wear two shirts, and not sweat to death. Arnold walked down the sidewalk in the direction of Gerald's house. He'd walked this route so many times, he could walk it in his sleep. But today, his mind was everywhere and he accidentally turned on the wrong block. Twice.

"Where am I?" Arnold questioned himself out loud. "Ugh. I need to pay attention more."

He looked at the street signs, and realized that he was near his school. How did he get that far away from his route? Arnold itched his nose, looked around and sighed. He realized that Gerald wasn't home, anyway. He was with Phoebe. They'd planned to go out to breakfast today.

Arnold realize that he really had no interest in playing ball today. So he turned around and walked back to his house.

At Gerald Field, a few hours later, the gang was grouping together, getting ready for the weekly game. Everyone was there, minus a few people, but most noticeable, was Arnold.

"Hey, where's Arnold? He was on my team this week. We had a strategy," said Stinky.  
"Yeah, where is that football headed freak?" Helga said. Although, on the inside, she really was worried. Arnold never missed a game. Something was wrong.  
"He said that he was coming today. I didn't hear a word from him yesterday, though, after he told us he wasn't in the mood to hang out. He might have changed his plans and not said anything," said Gerald.  
"He would have said something. He's Arnold," said Sid. "He might have just slept in late."  
"Why don't we just forget about it and play the dumb game?" Harold grumbled.  
"Because we're already a few people short, and without Arnold, there aren't enough people to play," Gerald said, disappointed. "Why don't we just play tomorrow?" He sighed, packed up his baseball glove and started to walk home.

Without questioning any more, everyone else also slowly walked out of the field, going home. Leaving Helga sitting on the pitcher's mound.

"Oh, Arnold, where are you? My love, my passion, why have you gone missing without a word?" Helga recited, holding her locket above her head. "I miss you so! Why have you gone astray, and made my heart break because of your absence?"

And just like clockwork, Brainy appeared behind Helga, breathing down her neck.

"GET OUT OF HERE, BRAINY!" She yelled, punching him in the face, like usual. Frowning, Helga got up and walked out of the field.

Not even meaning to, she subconsciously walked the route to Arnold's house. Seeing him sitting on the boarding house stoop, with his head in his hands, looking depressed and beat up, she immediately grew concerned. She walked up to the step and looked down on him.

"Hey, Football Head. Where were you today? We had to postpone the game because of you!" Helga snapped.

Arnold looked up at her, with tears in his eyes. Helga was taken aback, for she hadn't seen him cry before. Not like this.

"Arnold? What...what's wrong?" She said, quietly. She looked around, not knowing how to handle what was before her.  
"Helga...I just...I...My...Parents...I..." He started to say, and then stopped.  
"What? Spill it, Hair Boy."  
"I don't know how to explain. It's...it's just something that I've been dealing with that no one could really understand..."  
"Whatever, Arnold-o. Try me." Helga proceeded to sit down next to him on the stoop.  
"Okay..." He started. "I found my dad's old journal, and it explained how he met my mom...and how I was born, and all that stuff..."

Helga looked at Arnold, listening intently, but still not fully grasping what he was so bothered about. But as he went on, she was starting to understand. He explained everything, down to the bone, up until he stole the map from his grandpa's drawer.

"Wow...Arnold...I'm so sorry..." Helga said. "I don't know what to say?"  
"It's okay, Helga. I don't expect you to say anything to console me or anything. I just needed to get that out. But..." Arnold said.  
"But what?"  
"What do I do now? I have this map...but I...I don't know what to do next."  
"Go."  
"What?"  
"GO. GO FIND THEM."  
"Helga, you're insane."  
"No, Arnold. I have NEVER seen you cry the way that you are right now. You need to go find your freaking parents before I smack you upside the head."  
"I'm only a kid! How am I supposed to go to San Lorenzo?"  
"Just do it. Get on a bus or a plane or something that moves and take your butt over there."

Arnold contemplated what Helga said. He couldn't just go. He couldn't leave Hillwood. But he couldn't let his parents stay missing. They could be in grave danger or something. He could be their last hope. He needed to go. He needed...

"Go with me," Arnold blurted.  
Helga's eyes practically popped out of their sockets.  
"WHAT?" She yelled.  
"I need someone to go with me, Helga."  
"Take Gerald-o."  
"I can't, Helga. He's going to camp this summer with Sid and Stinky. Plus, his parents would notice he was gone." Helga frowned as Arnold said this.  
"So, mine wouldn't?" Helga very well knew that her parents wouldn't know.

They don't even know how old she is. Her mom is always drunk and her dad is always at his stupid beeper emporium. And Olga...well, Olga is Olga. She doesn't even live in Hillwood. If Helga left, it wouldn't matter to anyone. Helga sighed.

"Okay. Okay, Arnold. I'll go," She said. Arnold grinned and hugged her. Then he quickly pulled away.  
"Sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just... excited that someone was going with me, that's all," Arnold said.  
"Yeah, yeah, just hands off the merchandise, bucko," Helga said, but in all reality, she was the happiest girl in the world. "So when are we leaving?"  
"Whenever we can," Arnold said. "I have a map. My life savings. And a passport. You?"  
"I have money. And a passport, I guess. I can bring walkie talkies or something in case we get split up."  
"That's great! Okay, Helga. How about we leave Monday morning? That should give us time to pack and stuff."  
"Sounds peachy to me, Football Head. Let's just not get ourselves killed. Deal?"  
"Deal."

* * *

Arnold said goodbye to Helga for the day and walked into the boarding house. He really couldn't believe what was happening. He was going to go to San Lorenzo, the day after tomorrow. He was going to start the journey to finding his parents.

That night, Arnold had a hard time sleeping, again. He knew he needed as much sleep as he could get before they left on Monday. He had a sleepless night, tossing and turning, and when he woke up, he had dark circles underneath his eyes. He sat in his bed, thinking.

What was he going to tell his grandparents?

He got up, ate breakfast, did his morning routines. He walked back up to his room and just stood there for a minute. After a while, he started pacing around his room, trying to figure out what to tell his grandparents. As he paced, he packed his bags. He didn't know how long he'd be gone, or if he'd be back. He decided to take a good percentage of his clothes, socks, etc.

There really wasn't anything else in his room he could think of bringing, so he ran down to the basement, where they kept their camping supplies. He picked out two thick sleeping bags, a foldable waterproof tent, a few lanterns, knives, and his grandpa's bow and arrows. He also grabbed a few yards of rope, some canteens, 4 flashlights,and a first aid kit. He couldn't think of much else, so he lugged the whole load of items up to his room. He packed it up into a bunch of duffel bags, and in the end, he had at least 4 bags. Heavy bags. This was NOT going to be easy.

Helga on the other hand, forced herself to sleep that night. She didn't even remember sleeping.

When she awoke, she showered and brushed her teeth and did all her morning routines. When she was done, and had nothing else to do with her day, she just sat on her bed, dumbfounded at what Arnold asked her to do.

He asked HER to go with him to San Lorenzo. HER! HELGA G. PATAKI. He could have picked anyone. He could have gone by himself. But he picked Helga, and she could not fathom the fact that she was going to San Lorenzo with Arnold. It was just too much. What was she supposed to bring? How long would they be gone? Would they ever make it back? Would they go missing like Arnold's parents?!

Helga was panicking. She couldn't go. This wasn't happening.  
But it was Arnold. He does everything for everyone and never asks for anything back. He was so broken and bruised about this map thing. He never breaks down about anything. He needed her, and she needed to suck it up and pack her bags already. She was going to San Lorenzo, and she was going to help her love find his parents. He deserves to be happy.

Helga got up off her bed and took a deep breath.

"Arnold, I will help you will find your parents, or my name isn't Helga G. Pataki!" Helga yelled at her reflection in the mirror. She ran to her closet, and picked out all the stuff she would bring. She hoped that Arnold would bring the essentials, like a tent or something.

She picked out pants, some shirts, a thick coat, two pairs of shoes, 4 pairs of socks, walkie talkies, and of course, her locket of Arnold. She looked at the locket in agony.

"Why do I have to love you so much? Why, oh why? We're going to get ourselves killed, my dear, we don't know what we're up against!" Helga whispered. She was being pessimistic.  
But then again, she told Arnold to go. She was going to let him go by himself. That wasn't right and she was pretty much required to go, now. Helga threw all the bags on her bed, groaned at the sight before her, and left her room. She needed Phoebe.

Helga went downstairs, passed by Big Bob who was watching wrestling, and she passed by the kitchen, where Miriam was passed out on the counter. Helga grabbed a soda from the fridge and left the house. As she walked to Phoebe's house, she smiled to herself, thinking that this might be a good thing for her. She could get closer to Arnold, and maybe get to know each other better than they did now.  
Maybe he would realize that she doesn't hate him as much as she puts on. She knew that he knew that she loved him, because of the whole FTi business, but it was never mentioned again. She wondered if that would get mentioned anytime during their trip.

As she walked up Phoebe's stoop, she sighed. She knocked on her door and waited. Phoebe answered quickly, like usual.

"Helga! Hi!" Phoebe said, cheerily. "How are you? You look a little tired."  
"Phoebe, I have something that I need to tell you, and it's really important," Helga said.  
"Okay, come on in. Lila, Rhonda and Nadine are here. I'm making cookies."

Helga walked into Phoebe's kitchen, a little annoyed now that there were 3 other people in the room. She smelled the thick aroma of peanut butter cookies, and wondered if this was the last time she would smell cookies. Helga shook her head violently, trying to get the thought from her head. She was being too pessimistic. They'd live through this.

"Phoebe, I need to tell you something. I'm leaving," Helga whispered in Phoebe's ear.  
"Leaving? What do you mean?" Phoebe asked.  
"SHHHH. I don't want THEM to hear me." Helga jerked her head towards Nadine, Rhonda and Lila.  
"Oh. Shhh-ing!" Phoebe grinned. Phoebe took Helga into the living room, away from the kitchen. "Now what about leaving?"  
"You saw that Arnold wasn't at Gerald Field yesterday, right?" Helga asked.  
"I noticed that, yes."  
"Okay. So after everyone left, I walked to Arnold's house, and he was sitting on his stoop."  
"That seems normal, I suppose." Phoebe smiled faintly, but she knew something was up.  
"He was crying, Pheebs. I...I couldn't...I didn't know what to do or say..."  
"Crying? Arnold? Oh, Helga. What happened after you saw him?"

"I asked what was wrong, and he told me. You know that his parents went missing, years ago. Well, Phoebe, he found a map. It was in his dad's journal. And he didn't know what to do."  
"A map? That's great! But what does that have to do with you leaving?"  
"Pheebs. Arnold is going to follow the map, he's going to San Lorenzo."  
"Oh, Helga, you can't be saying..." Phoebe's eyes grew in awe.

"Yeah. I'm going with him." Helga looked down and her hands were shaking. "I told him that he needed to go, and he asked me to go with him. He can't go alone, Phoebe. He needs me."  
"Helga, you two just can't leave! You're only kids. You will get lost, you'll be attacked by a lion or something. You don't know the land of San Lorenzo. You don't know how to survive in the wild!" Phoebe shrieked. She grabbed Helga's shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Helga, you have to realize that you might not come back!" she whispered.

"I know, Phoebe. But I can't let Arnold sit and get more and more depressed because his parents are missing. Now he has a way to help them, it's going to nag at him forever. Imagine if your parents were gone, and you had a chance to bring them back?! I don't care about me anymore, Phoebe! I have to help him before he does something drastic!"

"Helga, this IS something drastic!" Phoebe said.  
"You can't tell anyone about this, Phoebe. You have to let us just go," Helga said.  
"Helga!" Phoebe cried. She was seriously distraught and worried. "It's too dangerous!"  
"I'm sorry, Phoebe. I have to" Helga smiled, sadly, and gave her friend a hug. Phoebe could tell that Helga was not playing around.

When she doesn't throw insults, it means that she is extremely serious. Phoebe knew that nothing would hold Helga back from helping the love of her life. Phoebe knew the extremes of what Helga felt. Phoebe and Helga sighed and they both walked into the kitchen to get the cookies out of the oven.

Nadine, Rhonda and Lila were playing a card game at the dinner table.

"Helga! Hello! Have a cookie, they're ever-so yummy!" Lila squealed. She grinned from ear to ear, holding out a plate of large cookies.  
"Uh, thanks, but no thanks, Lila. I'm not hungry," Helga grumbled. "What are you playing?"  
"Slap jack. But it's really not going well. Lila refuses to slap the table. She says it's 'ever-so violent'," Rhonda said, smirking.

And just as she said, when a jack hit the table, Lila flinched and refused to participate.

"Lila, that's the game," Nadine said. "That's why it's called slap jack."  
"But... I just don't feel comfortable. I would be ever-so happy if we played Go Fish!" Lila said.  
"Go Fish is for 2nd graders, Lila," Rhonda grumbled.

Helga grew bored of their stupid game. She walked out of the room and went back into the living room. Their voices faded as Helga shut them out.  
She sunk down into Phoebe's recliner. Phoebe slowly followed her into the room.

"Helga," Phoebe said quietly. "You're doing something extremely stupid, but what you're doing is extremely self-less. I'm proud of you for helping Arnold." Phoebe smiled.  
"Thanks Phoebe. I'm afraid, but I want to see him smile again," Helga said, sadly.  
"You will. I believe that you will, Helga."

Helga hoped that this was true.


	3. I Hate Planes

**AUTHOR NOTE:  
Okay. Now I know that if you really put this story into reality, it's probably impossible for two kids to hop on a plane to the other side of the world. And well, it actually kind of is far fetched, but do you realize who these kids are? Helga and Arnold xD**

**If you watched the Hey Arnold movie, think about that. Could three 9 year olds drive a bus through town, AND jump an overpass? ;)**

**It's Hey Arnold. Anything can happen. **

* * *

"Arnold, do you think you have enough crap?" Helga said, grumpily. It was Monday morning, literally 4:30am. Arnold was lugging 5 giant duffel bags full of who knows what. Helga had only 2.

"We need this stuff, Helga," Arnold replied.  
"Whatever. Why do we need to be up this early? I mean, you never explained it. You just called me, woke me up, and told me to meet you at the bus stop."  
"Because I had to get out of the boarding house before my grandparents woke up."  
"They don't know? Dang, Football Head! They're going to send out a missing persons report!"  
"They would have NEVER let me leave, Helga. They wouldn't even let me have the journal. Come on. They'll figure it out eventually. The map is missing. It's not that hard to figure out. My grandparent's aren't dumb. Did you tell your parents?"  
"I left them a quick note..."  
"What does that mean?"  
"I wrote, 'Hey, Bob and Miriam, I'm going to go half-way around the world to help find my friend's parents. Don't wait up. -Helga.' Is that bad or something, Hair Boy?"  
"Uh, Helga, that's a problem...I mean, seriously, you wrote that?!"  
"Yep. They won't even notice. Miriam'll end up reading it and thinking I'm going on a field trip. It's fine, Arnold."  
"Whatever you say, Helga. The bus is here. Let's go."

The bus pulled up to the bus stop, with Helga and Arnold the only ones waiting. They had 7 duffel bags to lug into the bus, and the driver didn't look too enthused.

"Got enough luggage, kids? What are you doing? Running away?" He grumbled.  
"Stay out of my business, fat boy," Helga snapped. "I got 3 hours of sleep last night and I don't need an interrogation from someone like you."  
"Helga, you don't have to be rude," Arnold said.  
"Well, it's none of his business. Help me with these stupid bags, Football Head."  
"Fine, Helga, fine." Arnold helped Helga pull the bags into the bus and they both put them up in the overhead compartments. They were the only ones on the bus, so it was pretty quiet.

"Ya gonna pay the toll?" The bus driver asked.  
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, sir," Arnold said as he put money into the toll box. "I paid for you, Helga. Just saying."  
"Yeah, thanks," Helga said.  
"_Why am I being so mean? I need to quit this. I'm supposed to be HELPING him, I'm not supposed to be a nuisance. Get it together, girl_," Helga thought to herself.

She sunk down into a bus seat and stared out the window. To her surprise, Arnold sat next to her.

"You okay?" Arnold asked.  
"I don't know, Arnold-o. I'm tired. I didn't have my morning coffee this morning," Helga snapped.  
"Helga, you don't drink coffee."  
"What's it to you?"  
"You were fine the day before yesterday. Why are you being so harsh? Everything that comes out of your mouth is an insult or you start snapping at me or that bus driver. If you're going to go with me, you need to stop with your crap!"

Helga was taken aback by what Arnold had said. He never talked to her like that. He must be pretty shaken up about this map thing. Helga knew she needed to be nicer. But its instinct, a common reflex for her to snap at someone, to insult. She can't help it.

"Arnold...I don't..." Helga started. Arnold frowned at her.  
"What? You don't what?" He said, calmer, but still irritated.  
"I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm being so harsh. I just can't help it sometimes."  
"Yes you can, Helga. I know you. You can be a really nice person if you really try. I've seen it before, and I know you can be that person."

Helga thought about it for a while and realized that Arnold was right. She needed to work on her attitude. But she'd been this way since she was 3. It was going to take time.

"I'll try, okay, Hair Boy? I'll try," She said. "But it won't be a quick change. So don't expect it!"  
"Fine, Helga. I'm going to go sit over there, and try to take a nap. The commute is at least 2 hours to the airport. You better take a nap too, maybe it'll help you," Arnold said.

He got up and went to another seat, lay down, stuffed his coat underneath his head and closed his eyes. Helga just stared at him for a few minutes, thinking about what he just said. He was right. He was ALWAYS right. It was irritating.

Helga took out her locket, stared at it longingly.  
"_I'll really try, my love. Oh, Arnold. I love you so much. I wish I could control my tongue when I spit out those harsh words to you, I wish that I could speak to you with the love that I hold in my heart! I hope to dream of you tonight and I hope to dream that I'm a nice person, and that I have the courage , again, to tell you how much I care for you and love you..._" Helga thought to herself.

Her eyes were droopy, and she couldn't really keep them open. She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew, Arnold was shaking her awake telling her it was time to go into the airport. She was still clutching her locket, but thankfully, Arnold wasn't paying attention. She got up, about to put the locket back in her shirt pocket. She realized that it might not be safe to keep it there, with them running around the jungle and all. So she safely stuffed it in one of her duffel bags and left the bus.

Arnold was nervous. He never really flew in a plane before, but that wasn't what he was freaked about. What if this map really led him to his parents? And...what if it didn't? What if him and Helga got lost and were unable to find their way back? What if he lost Helga? What if they got attacked? What if he found his parents, but they didn't know who he was?  
There were so many 'what-ifs' going through Arnold's mind.

He couldn't process it all, but he needed to be brave. This could be a matter of life and death, for him and Helga, and maybe even his parents. This was the biggest thing that he'd ever done, bigger than the FTi business, even. This could change his whole entire life.

As they strolled through the airport, lugging all 7 bags, they were silent. Neither of them said a word, both of them had their minds racing. But each of them were thinking completely different things. Arnold with his fear, and Helga with her struggle with her attitude. They were both a little irritated with each other, and they just kept the silence between them.

They got to the area for the boarding for the plane, Arnold finally spoke up.

"This is your last chance to back out, Helga. If you don't really want to go, you aren't obligated to," Arnold said. He looked at the ground.  
"Me, back out of a commitment? Come on, Football Head. I promised you, didn't I?"

"Well, you just haven't been acting like you really are up for this. I don't want you going because you pity me, Helga! I want you to go because you really care and because you really believe that we can do this!" Arnold said. "I want you to care as much as I do about what we're doing. I don't want you going just because you don't want me going alone. I don't want you to pity me and just play along with my idea that my parents are alive, and that this map is real. I want you to believe it, and not think it's some fantasy!"

Helga looked at Arnold with her eyes big, tears forming in the corners. She blinked them away, and stepped closer to Arnold.

"Arnold, I don't pity you, I don't think that this is a fantasy. That map means something. I want to help you, I want you to be happy and to find your parents. I really do. If I didn't, I wouldn't have come with you! I do believe that there is hope. Maybe we can actually do this, Hair Boy. I'm sorry if you thought that I doubted you..." Helga said slowly. "I'm just stressed out because I don't know what's going to happen."

"It's okay, Helga. I'm stressed out too. I'm sorry for snapping at you and lashing out at you. It was no excuse, but I just needed to know that what we're doing is real. I needed to have assurance of something in my life. You are the only one who knows about this, and if I was doing it alone, I don't think that I could handle it."

Helga looked down at the ground, then looked back up. She frowned and took a deep breath.

"Let's do this, Football Head. Let's kick some ass and save your parents."  
Arnold looked up from the ground and grinned at Helga. He started to laugh.  
"Thank you, Helga. Really. It means a lot," He said. Helga smiled back at him.  
"Well, we better get on that plane before it leaves!" Helga said.  
"Right. Let's go," Arnold said.

So they walked down the long hallway to the plane, found their seats, buckled up and took off to San Lorenzo.

* * *

"Well, there's no turning back now," Arnold said as he looked out the plane window.  
"I swear, Arnold, if we get there and you chicken out, I'm going to throw you in a ditch and walk home," Helga said. "We're finishing this."  
"I know, Helga. I'm just saying. I mean, now that we're on the plane...it's real. It really feels real! I just can't believe we got out of Hillwood so fast."  
"Your grandparents are going to wake up today and find that you're not there, and have a heart attack or something that old people do." Helga smirked and took a sip of her Yahoo soda.

"They won't notice until later tonight. They'll think I'm at school. It's Monday, remember?"  
"Mr. Simmons is going to have a cow when he finds out we skipped school on one of the last days of the year! He's such a doof sometimes," Helga started laughing. Arnold started laughing, too.  
"Oh... oh, no. I forgot to tell Gerald." Arnold said. "I completely forgot."  
"He doesn't know anything about this? Like, AT ALL? Dang, Football Head. I thought he was your best friend," Helga teased. She elbowed him and smirked.  
"I was going to tell him. But then I didn't."  
"Ha, well, okay, then. I told Phoebe. She'll probably keep it a secret until the cops are involved."  
"Yeah, I'm sure that'll happen sometime in the next two or three days."

The plane ride was hours and hours long. Helga fell asleep only a half an hour into the ride.  
Arnold sat and stared out the window, wondering what would happen next. He very well knew that they'd be spending the night in the jungle. He was so glad that he brought all the supplies they needed. He just hoped that it would be enough.

He was afraid of living in the jungle. But if his parents could do it, so could he. It was in his blood. Arnold took out the map and scanned it over. He knew where they'd start, but he didn't really know which way to follow. There wasn't a red dotted line leading to a big red X. It wasn't going to be easy.

They'd have to explore the whole jungle before they found anything. Hopefully, they'd run into the Green Eyed People or some nice villagers that could help them on their way. Arnold tried to think of things that his dad wrote in his journal that could help. The only things that he could recall were that the Green Eyed People helped them. But what if they couldn't be found? And if they were found, would they welcome Arnold and Helga? Would they know who Arnold was?

"_We will be landing shortly, please buckle your seat belts and prepare for the plane to descend_," Said the pilot over the loudspeaker.

Arnold buckled his seatbelt, and buckled Helga's, too, since she was asleep. She looked so peaceful asleep. He wondered why she had such a tough exterior when she was awake. He knew she was nice. He knew that she really cared.

Arnold sat and thought for a minute. He remembered what Helga had told him back when they were saving the neighborhood. How she loved him and that whole big confession on the FTi building. He knew that it wasn't just 'the heat of the moment'. Helga would have never said such things just because they were in grave danger. No. She meant those things.  
Ever since it happened, he kept trying to convince himself that she didn't mean it.  
It was HELGA for goodness sakes. She'd never say any of that to him.

But deep down, he knew it was real. He knew she meant it. She wouldn't just SAY that.

That's why she came with Arnold. He knew it. He knew that she cared about him and really wanted to help.  
Knowing that comforted Arnold, because he knew that she had his back. He was just confused because she was so mean to him. If she loved him, why was she so harsh?

And Arnold also wondered how he felt about her. He had known her since preschool. They have had a weird, rocky friendship, but it was unique, because they both helped each other so much with their life problems. They understood each other, even if neither of them admitted it. Arnold sighed, sat back and kept wondering.

Ten minutes later, the plane began to descend from the sky, to land in the airport at San Lorenzo. It was a beautiful place. Arnold could not believe his eyes. No wonder his parents loved living here. Arnold wished that maybe he could live here one day.  
And then he realized-He was going to. He was going to live deep in the jungle of San Lorenzo, and actually experience this. Arnold started to get second thoughts about getting off the plane when Helga woke up, and smiled at Arnold.

"Hey, Arnold. Sorry I slept the whole entire plane ride. Why didn't you wake me?" Helga said, groggily. "I need a bagel. Where's that food lady?"

Arnold smiled, and pushed the second thoughts out of his head. It'd be okay.

"I figured you needed your sleep, Helga. You've been extremely cranky," Arnold said.  
"Yeah, yeah, bucko, whatever. When are we getting off this heap of junk plane?"  
"Soon. They have to actually land, Helga."  
"So after we get out of this thing, where are we going? We need to get some food."  
"We'll go in the airport and stock up on food, don't worry. And then after that... I have no idea." Arnold looked down at the map, and looked at Helga. "I guess we'll start here and move east." He pointed at a place on the map, and showed her where they might go.  
"Yeah...and what if that leads to wild mountain lions?" Helga asked.  
"Then we turn around, Helga," Arnold said, flatly. "Let's be serious, okay?"  
"I guess we'll figure out this whole fiasco after we get out of this smelly plane. Ugh. Why does it have to be so stuffy?!" Helga wrestled her seatbelt undone. "I hate planes." She mumbled.

Arnold looked at her and sighed. The plane landed and the passengers were released. As they filed out of the plane, Arnold remembered something.

"Uh...Helga, did you bring money?" Arnold asked.  
"Yeah, I got about fifty bucks. Why?" Helga asked as she narrowed her eyes at Arnold.  
"I forgot to bring mine...I was so busy packing supplies that I forgot to get my money out of my drawer." Arnold half-smiled in embarrassment.  
"Well you better hope that fifty bucks is going to get us enough food to survive the next few weeks, Football Head!"  
"We might be gone more than a few weeks, Helga."  
Helga stopped in her tracks. Her heart started beating too fast.  
"What did you say?"  
"I don't know how long we'll be gone, Helga. We might be gone for a month or two. It depends on where this map leads us," Arnold replied, quietly.

Helga's eye twitched, she took a deep breath and realized that this wasn't going to be as easy as she thought. She thought that they'd be there a few weeks, and be done with it. She didn't think that they'd be gone for a month...or the whole summer. Helga had been in denial, and she kept telling herself that it would be easy. She started panicking again.

"Helga, are you okay?" Arnold said, shaking her out of her daze.  
"Yeah, yeah. Hands off the merchandise! I'm fine, Football head. I'm just having jet lag. Gosh," She said, quickly.  
"Are you sure?" Arnold grew concerned.  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Quit asking me!" Helga said as she stomped over to baggage claim.

Arnold sighed as he followed her to the baggage claim. They picked up duffel after duffel, but weirdly enough, they only ended up with 6 of them.

"One of my bags is missing, Arnold-o," Helga said. She looked through the one bag that she found, and realized that it wasn't the most important one. Helga's eyes widened.

"This happens all the time, though, Helga. Bags go missing. It's common," Arnold said, looking for her bag.  
"Arnold. I need both of them!" Helga snapped.  
"Well then look around for the other one. It may be hidden underneath someone else's."  
They looked and looked, but they couldn't find her bag.  
"What does it look like?" Arnold asked.  
"It's bright pink," Helga said, blushing. "I was forced into buying it."  
"Helga, you wear pink all the time. I'd expect your duffel bag to be pink. But...I don't see it anywhere. Go ask someone."  
Arnold and Helga went to the customer service kiosk thing and asked about it.

"Well, I'm sorry about your bag, but we have no control over ones that go missing. Either you can sit and wait for it to come up, or you can give us an address to send it to when it surfaces. Your last option is just to realize that it's missing and won't come back," The lady said, rudely.

"Look, bucko, I need that bag, and I'm not leaving until every person and every car is searched until that freaking bag is back in my hands!" Helga yelled. She got up on the kiosk and pointed her finger in the lady's face. "I'm NOT asking you. I'm DEMANDING that you help me surface that bag!"  
"Security, security, there's a disturbance on kiosk 14." The lady said into a telephone nearby.  
"Helga, it's fine, we'll just go search some more, calm down," Arnold said, quietly.  
"You don't understand, I have important things in that bag!" Helga yelled.  
"What's so important?" Arnold asked as Helga shifted from foot to foot.  
"It...it's not important right now, Football Head. Just let me deal with this lady."

Arnold frowned at Helga and wondered what was so important that she had to threaten some random employee. The security came, and grabbed Helga and Arnold. They took them to the exit, and once Helga saw that exit sign, she snapped.

"GET OFF ME, YOU BIG LOOF!" She pushed the security guard off of her and she ran back to baggage claim. She looked all around, under everything. She looked at the compartment where the bags were coming out of, and she crawled right in. It must be there somewhere.

"Where is it?! I can't lose that locket!" Helga grumbled. She looked around, climbed through tunnels and over tons of bags that were sliding through them. She looked through one more tunnel, and lo and behold, there it was. Her pink duffel. The strap was stuck on a loose wire in one of the tunnels.

"YES!" Helga cried. She crawled up the tunnel and grabbed her bag. She opened it and grabbed her locket, hugging it tightly. "MY LOVE! I ALMOST LOST YOU! Now I must go back to you, my beloved, to find your parents!" Helga recited.

She was giddy! She crawled back through the tunnels and back to baggage claim, where plenty of security was waiting for her. Her eyes widened as she saw Arnold handcuffed. One guard had a set of cuffs waiting for her.

"Uh...NO," Helga said as she started to run. One of the guards caught her arm and cuffed her wrists.

"You two should know better than to threaten someone in an airport, nonetheless trespass into the baggage tunnels. You resisted security, and you scared half the people here. We're taking you into airport custody until further notice," Said the guard, who's name tag read 'Georgie'.

"Hey, Georgie, we have something better to attend to, bucko, so let us go!" Helga yelled as she struggled to get loose. Arnold was silent as he watched her. He didn't look happy, he didn't look mad. He looked exhausted, and disappointed. Helga noticed this, and immediately felt ashamed. All of this for a stupid locket.  
Arnold was right. She needed to work on her attitude.

They took both of them, and their 7 bags, and took them to the back of the airport, where they stuck them in a room made of cement.

"Stay here," said another guard, who's name read, 'Henry'.  
"What else would we do?" Helga snapped. "It's not like we can go anywhere!"  
The guard ignored her and closed the door, and they heard a lock go into place.

"Helga," Arnold said. "Why?"  
"I couldn't leave it, Arnold," Helga replied.  
"Yes, you could have. Really, though, was one bag worth a whole day, maybe our whole trip, wasted?" Arnold's face fell. He looked like he would cry.  
"You don't understand, Arnold," She said.  
"Whatever you say, Helga. You're making this trip unbearable."

Helga froze. That wasn't what she was trying to do. That wasn't it at all.  
She realized what she did was completely selfish. Phoebe was proud of her for going with Arnold and being self-less, but so far, she failed to do that. They hadn't have even hit the jungle in San Lorenzo yet and Arnold wanted her to leave. This was just...heartbreaking.

"I'm sorry," Helga whispered.  
"What?" Arnold asked.  
"I said that I was sorry. I...I was being selfish...I wasn't thinking..."  
"Why was that duffel so important?"  
"Because...because it just was."  
"Helga."  
"What? I'm telling you the truth."  
"No. There's more. Why was it such a big deal?!"  
"Because...just because!"  
"Helga! Tell me!"  
"I...I CAN'T, ARNOLD!"  
"Why? Why can't you tell me? You've told me worse things than this! It was just a duffel bag! Tell me why."  
"Worse...things?" Helga whispered. She knew what he meant.  
"Don't change the subject, Helga."  
"I...couldn't let it go, Arnold..."  
"What?"  
"My...my locket..."  
"Your locket. What locket?"  
"My heart locket. It's...just something extremely important to me and I couldn't leave it...it was in my bag and when I noticed it was gone, I almost had a heart attack. I've lost it before, and I went to the farthest lengths to get it back. It's not a small deal, Football Head."  
"Oh. Why didn't you just say so?"  
"Because. I couldn't. I'm sorry. I've had it since I was little. I couldn't let it go."  
"Helga..."  
"Yeah?"  
"I forgive you."  
"Why? I'm ruining your whole trip, Football Head."  
"Because I know that you care, and you're just stressed."  
"Thanks Arnold." Helga looked around the cement room. "There's a window. Let's break outta here. I don't want to deal with Georgie or Henry again."  
"Helga, that window is tiny," Arnold said. "But I guess it's worth a try."

Arnold and Helga looked up at the window, trying to stratagize.  
"We need to break the window. Get one of the knives from my green duffel," Arnold said.  
"Okay, Hair Boy," said Helga. She unzipped the duffel and pulled out a knife and gave it to Arnold. He shoved it in the window and broke the glass.  
"We better hurry and get out of here. I'm sure they heard the glass shatter," Arnold said.  
They proceeded to shove all the duffel bags through the window before they climbed through. "You go first, Helga. I can go after you."  
"No, Arnold, I'm taller, I can boost you up to the window and then you can pull me up by my arms," Helga said. "Trust me, Football Head, I know what I'm doing. I climb through windows all the time."  
"Helga...I'm really not going to ask about that. But that concerns me," Arnold said, laughing.

Helga knelt down and put her hands out, Arnold stepped on them, and she lifted him up to the window. He grabbed the window frame and pulled himself up. He climbed through the window and looked around.

"The coast is clear! Come on up," Arnold said, quietly.  
Helga was just barely tall enough to grab the window frame, but she was still pushing it, because she could barely reach it standing on her tippy toes.

"Hey, Football Head, a little help down here!" Helga called. "I can't get a grip on the window."  
Arnold knelt down and grabbed Helga's hands, trying to pull her up. Helga couldn't get a foot grip on the wall, so she kept slipping back down.

"I can't get up there, Arnold!" Helga said. "What do I do, now?"  
"Try jumping, and as you jump, try to get a grip on the wall. As you do that, run up the wall," Arnold suggested. "It's worth a try!"

Helga gripped Arnold's hands, jumped, and tried to run up the wall. She got halfway through the window when the cell door opened, and the guards appeared.

"ARNOLD!" Helga screamed. Arnold tried to pull her through the window faster, and she was almost out, when the guards grabbed her by the legs and pulled her back through the window.

"Helga! Don't let go of my hands!" Arnold yelled. Helga still had a grip on Arnold's hands. She was hanging there, with the guards pulling at her legs, and Arnold pulling at her arms.

"LET GO! WE'VE HAD ENOUGH! YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!" Yelled Georgie.  
"Like heck we are! HANDS OFF THE MERCHANDISE, BUCKO!" Helga screamed as she pulled her knees in, then slammed her feet back in his face. He stumbled back, and Helga fell down, hard, and hit her ribs on the window frame. Arnold pulled her through the window, and helped her stand up.

"Are you okay, Helga?!" Arnold said, frantically.  
"I don't know, Arnold...I think I broke some ribs," Helga said, quietly. "We need to get out of here."

They grabbed the duffel bags and they started to run down the road.  
They ran and ran until they hit the jungle, until they couldn't run anymore. They stopped by a freshwater stream, and collapsed to the ground. Helga grasped her ribs, gasping in pain.

"Helga, are you okay?" Arnold asked, panting from running so much.  
"I...I don't know...my ribs hurt really, really bad," Helga said.  
"Okay, I'll set up our tent, and your sleeping bag, and you can lay down and rest for a while. Maybe that'll help."  
"Thank you, Arnold, it means a lot." Helga smiled, faintly.

They were finally in the jungle, they were finally starting their journey.

But the problem now...was that they had no food.


	4. People Are Noticing

**BACK IN HILLWOOD**  
_**MONDAY MORNING, SAME DAY ARNOLD AND HELGA LEFT**_

"Good morning, class! It's a beautiful day! Let's take attendance," Mr. Simmons said, cheerily. "Lila, why don't you come up and do attendance? I think it's your turn."  
"Certainly, Mr. Simmons! Alright...let's see. Phoebe?" Lila said.  
"Here!" Phoebe squeaked.  
"Gerald?"  
"Here," Gerald said.  
"Stinky?"  
"Here," Stinky said.  
"Nadine?"  
"Here!" Nadine said.  
"Arnold?  
Silence. Everyone looked around the room.  
"Arnold? Are you here?" Lila repeated.  
"Well, Lila, it looks like Arnold is absent today, so continue on," Mr. Simmons said.  
"Okay. Sheena?" Lila asked.  
"Here!" Sheena said.  
"Rhonda?"  
"Here," Rhonda said. "I'm ALWAYS here."  
"Okay. Helga?"  
Silence. Again, everyone looked around. Obviously, she wasn't there.  
"Helga? Oh dear, she must be absent, too," Lila said, quietly.  
"I have had no contact with either of them, I wonder why they're absent today," Said Mr. Simmons. "I'll have to ask Principal Wartz. I'll be right back, students."

After he left the room, everyone started talking. They wondered where Helga and Arnold were, and if they skipped school together or if it was just a coincidence.

"Arnold missed baseball on Saturday without a word, and now he's missing school? Something's not right here," Gerald said. "Phoebe, have you heard from Helga?"  
"Umm, well, I did yesterday," Phoebe said, quietly.  
"Did she say anything about not coming to school today?"  
"Well, it isn't my business to discuss," She squeaked.  
"I saw her yesterday, too! So did Nadine and Rhonda!" Lila said, loudly. "She seemed perfectly, ever so okay!"  
"Yeah, I guess, but her hair was a mess," Rhonda grumbled.  
"Okay, has anyone heard from Arnold?" Gerald asked.  
"No," said almost everyone in unison.

Everyone started to get suspicious, nervous, worried, etc.

"Something's up," Sid said. "Arnold is never absent. Helga, yeah, but not Arnold."  
Before he finished his sentence, Mr. Simmons re-entered the classroom.

"Well, students, Principal Wartz has no record of either Arnold or Helga calling in about being absent. But it's just one day, it is okay, Principal Wartz will be contacting Helga's parents and Arnold's grandparents to ask. No worries. Now let's get going on our end-of-the-school-year posters!" Mr. Simmons said.

Later that night, at the boarding house, Pookie was making chicken. She was singing a song, being Pookie, like usual. It was getting late, but she didn't notice Arnold's absence. He was always with his friends. Phil (Grandpa) came in the room and sat at the table. He sat and played cards with Ernie and Oscar. They played for about 2 hours, until Ernie got frustrated because Oscar kept hiding cards and cheating. By then, it was 10:30 pm, and Arnold should have been home. It was a school night.

"Where's Shortman?" Phil asked Pookie. "Did he say anything about being out late?"  
"Noooooooooooo," Pookie said, stretching out the word. She walked out of the kitchen, dancing.  
Little did Phil know, Principal Wartz HAD been in contact with Pookie about Arnold.

"I'm sure he's fine. He might have missed the bus or something," Ernie said.

They waited and waited, for hours on end. Finally, around 3am, with Oscar asleep on the table and Ernie complaining constantly, Phil spoke up.

"I'm calling Arnold's little friend, Gerald. Maybe he knows where he is," He said.

He went over to the phone and dialed his number. It rang and rang, and rang some more. Mind you, it was three in the morning, so no one was awake. Finally, someone picked up.

"Hello?" Someone said, groggily.  
"Hello, this is Arnold's grandpa, Phil, who is this?" Phil said.  
"G...Gerald..." Gerald said, half asleep.  
"Gerald, do you know where Arnold is?"

Gerald immediately woke up.  
"You don't know where he is?" Gerald said, surprised. He figured Arnold was home.  
"No. He never came home," Phil said. "I figured he was with you."  
"I have no idea. I'm sorry," Gerald said, slowly.  
"Well, okay, thank you, though. Keep in touch if you hear anything."

They hung up, and Gerald started to get seriously worried. This was NOT like Arnold. Something was wrong, for sure. He thought for a minute, and remembered that Helga was missing from school, too. Maybe she had something to do with this. He picked the phone back up, got out the school directory and called Helga's home phone.

"Hello?" said someone with a deep voice. Most likely Big Bob. "What do you want? It's three in the freaking morning! I have a beeper emporium to run!"  
"Hi, Mr. Pataki, this is Gerald, one of Helga's friends from school. Our friend Arnold is missing, and I was wondering if Helga was home," Gerald said, quickly.  
"I don't know. OLGA!" Bob yelled up the stairs. No answer. He yelled again. No answer.  
"No, sir, her name is Helga..."  
"I know my daughter's name."  
"Would you go see if she's in her room?"

Bob grumbled as he put down the phone. He walked upstairs to Helga's room and slammed open the door. The room was empty, the window wide open. There was no trace of Helga in the room.

"UGHHHHH!" Big Bob yelled. "MIRIAM!"

Bob stomped downstairs and grabbed the phone and yelled into it. "No, she isn't here, she's not in her room. Got enough information?" He slammed the phone down without an answer.

Gerald grew worried. He put on his coat and walked to Phoebe's house. As he walked up the stoop, he saw her in the window, in her living room, sitting in her recliner. She looked concerned. He knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

"Hi, Gerald," Phoebe said, quietly. She smiled faintly. "It's almost 4 in the morning. What do you need?"  
"Well, remember how Arnold was absent from school today? Well turns out, wherever he had been, he never came home, Phoebe. His grandpa called me and asked me if he was at my house. I said no. And I realized that Helga was absent from school today too, so I called her house and she was missing, too! Something's wrong, Phoebe," Gerald explained.

"Oh," Phoebe said. She stood there, shifting from foot to foot.  
"Oh? Phoebe. Do you know something about this?"  
"Well..."  
"Phoebe!" Gerald frowned. "Can I come in your house? You need to tell me whats going on."  
"Okay, Gerald, come on in," Phoebe said, letting him through the doorway.

Phoebe went into the kitchen and grabbed two Yahoo sodas. She came back into the living room and gave him one of the sodas. They sat on the couch.

"Okay, tell me," Gerald said.  
"Well, they're together, so there's that," Phoebe said. "Not a coincidence that they were both absent. They planned to leave, to go on a trip...they didn't tell anyone. Helga told only me."  
"Do you know where they went?"  
"Yes," she squeaked. "I promised her that I would keep it a secret, but I can see that it has become more of a big deal than she thought it would become."  
"Yeah. Arnold's grandparents are worried and Helga's dad is furious. Tell me, Phoebe, where are they and why did they leave without telling anyone?"  
"Well...they left because Arnold found a map in a journal of his dad's. They might be able to find where Arnold's parents are. You know they've been missing since he was a baby. And so...they left town immediately and flew to San Lorenzo, to follow the map. And they didn't tell anyone because no one would have let them leave."  
"WHAT?!"  
"Yeah."  
"Why did he take Helga?"  
"I don't know. Helga said he needed her."  
"We need to tell someone, Phoebe."  
"I know we do..."  
"But?"  
"Maybe we should let them follow that map."  
"Phoebe, that's crazy. They don't know what they're doing. We need to tell the police, his grandparents and the Patakis."  
"Don't."  
"Why?"  
"They need to do this. ARNOLD needs to do this. I could tell in the tone of Helga's voice that she was seriously concerned about him. He was breaking down and crying and he couldn't handle having that map, but not being about to do anything about it, Gerald."

Gerald sighed. He looked around for a minute and then looked back at Phoebe.

"You're right, Phoebe. But this is insane. We have to tell people something."  
"Maybe...maybe we can tell them that they ran away to Mexico or something!"  
"Mexico, Phoebe?"  
"I don't know. Maybe they wanted to start their summer off early and go to Mexico, France, the Caribbean or something. As an impulse. Like, a 'carpe diem' type thing. If anyone would believe that those two would run off together."  
"Yeah, and...well, we could tell them that we have contact with them. That they're okay. Not to worry. If anyone asks why they went together, we could just come up with something on the spot, I guess."  
"Okay, Gerald. But if they end up being gone too long, we have to do the right thing and tell everyone the truth...we don't want to lose them."

* * *

Night had fallen as Arnold and Helga made their temporary home in the jungle. Arnold had set up the tent and Helga was inside, resting. She had to bandage up her ribs, but really, the bandages did nothing. They had to heal on their own. Arnold was sitting outside the tent, staring into the bonfire he had made a few hours before. The orange light reflected off his face, off the trees and grass, making everything glow. He looked over the map and thought of what they'd do next.

They had no food at all. What were they going to do tomorrow for energy? Arnold put the map in his pocket and looked through his duffel bags. He searched and searched but all he could come up with was a box of crackers and a few water bottles. He wondered if Helga had packed any food. There was no way that they could go back to the airport to get food. They'd have to fend for themselves, now. They'd end up having to hunt.

Arnold shuddered at the thought. He had too much compassion to kill an animal. That was just out of his terms of thinking. Of doing. But he'd brought what they needed to hunt, and it was probably something that they'd have to do if they wanted to survive.

He looked up at the stars, and thought of the days events. Way too crazy to think about, but pretty hilarious if you really thought deep into it.  
The only thing that he regretted was letting Helga get hurt. He should have let her climb through the window first, and go afterwards. He should be the one with broken ribs. He sighed, and wished he could take back that whole scenario.

Helga was already stressed enough, and she didn't need broken ribs to slow her down. They were going to have to run, climb, crawl, hunt... a lot of things to get through the jungle.  
Arnold was furious at himself, but he really couldn't stay that way for long. He needed to be positive about this, and hope that the future would be bright.  
He hoped that they would find his parents and they'd know what to do, and how to get back. They sure weren't flying in that airport again.

Arnold decided to let Helga have the tent to herself, and so he rolled out his sleeping bag outside next to the fire. He climbed in the bag and got comfortable. He didn't think that he'd sleep well that night, with his mind racing and unknown creatures hidden in the shadows around them. He shuddered at the thought and pulled the sleeping bag over his face. He forced himself to close his eyes and sleep, and eventually it came. He woke up to the smell of meat, and of someone singing.

He opened his eyes a little bit and saw that Helga had gone hunting. She was roasting whatever she caught over the fire, and she was singing some song. He realized that watching her sing was probably a big invasion of her privacy, but it was a side of her that he hadn't seen before. It was beautiful.  
He smiled at the thought, rubbed his eyes to wake up, and made some noise so that she'd realize that he was awake. She stopped singing immediately.

"Hey, Football Head. Come get some food," Helga called. "I shot somethin'."  
"Good morning, Helga. That smells...interesting," Arnold said, sitting up.  
"Yeah...it's some small deer that was snooping around camp. I went through your bags to get that bow and arrow, by the way, Hair Boy," Helga threw her head back and laughed. "No human being should have been near me when I was shooting that bow."

Arnold's eyes widened and he looked around. He laughed nervously.

"Okay, well, at least we have food, huh? Yeah. So... how'd you sleep?" He asked.  
"I slept pretty okay. I was exhausted from yesterday. My ribs ache a little bit, but I don't think they're broken. I'm pretty sure they're bruised, though," Helga said.  
"That's great that they're not broken. Still, though, take it easy a bit. Maybe you shouldn't be the one hunting."  
"Hey, Football Head, I don't need you to watch over me or worry about me. Worry about yourself. I don't need another parent," Helga snapped. "Plus, you wouldn't hurt a fly. How would you hurt a wild animal? You wouldn't be able to, because you're too mushy. So let me do the hard work and you figure out where we're supposed to go."  
"Fine, Helga, whatever you say. Just don't hurt yourself," Arnold said. Helga glared at him.

They sat around the diminishing fire, eating what Helga caught. They sat and ate in silence. It seemed like they did that a lot, sat in silence.

"Where are we going next?" Helga asked between bites.  
"Well, according to my compass, we'll be going east, which is that way," Arnold said, pointing east. "And I guess...we'll just keep going until we find something."  
"Rock solid plan!" Helga said, sarcastically.  
"Trust me, Helga, this map leads to something."  
"Well, are we going to spend another night in this spot or are we going to pack up and get going?"  
"What do you want to do? Do you feel up to trekking through the jungle with our luggage?"  
"I'm up for anything, Football Head. I'm not a baby. I can handle it."

So after they finished eating, they started to pack up their supplies, taking down the tent and cleaning up everything, making sure the fire was out, etc. When they were all set, they started walking east. Helga picked up a giant branch and stripped the leaves from it. She started to use it as a walking stick, frequently smacking trees and bushes with it.

"So what's gonna happen if what we find isn't pretty?" Helga asked.  
"What do you mean?" Arnold asked.  
"Well...think about it, Arnold. What if we do find your parents, and...well..."  
"Don't think that way, Helga. Seriously. We're being optimistic, remember?"  
"There's always a chance."  
"I don't care. I don't need any more nightmares."  
"Okay, one more pessimistic thought, okay?"  
"Okay..."  
"What if we don't find anything, get lost and never make it back home?"  
"We're not going to get lost. We'll make it back home by the time school starts."  
"And you know this because...?"  
"I don't. But I'm looking on the bright side."  
"Why?"  
"Somebody has to."

They walked for hours, and hours turned into days. Days passed as they walked through the jungle, sometimes running from things, sometimes climbing over large rocks. They sometimes stopped to drink water and rest, or because they had to check the map and compass to make sure they didn't veer off course, even though they barely had a course to follow. They barely said a word to each other for days, except to say which way to turn or to watch out for obstacles. But that's it.  
Finally, Helga spoke up.

"Hey...Football Head. I'm dying over here, we've been walking literally since dawn. And now, the sun's going down. Can we make camp and call it a day?" Helga complained.  
"Yeah, I suppose we could. We need to find a flat, safe spot," Arnold said.  
"How about...over there, by that huge tree?" Helga pointed to an enormous tree, where flat land surrounded it, bright green grass and flowers blooming around the trunk.

"Wow, Helga. That's a great spot!" Arnold said, smiling. "Let's go."  
So they walked over to the tree and figured out where to put the tent.  
"Do you know how to put up a tent, Helga?" Asked Arnold.  
"I can manage, bucko. I'm not stupid," Helga snapped. "Have a little faith in me."  
"Fine. I was just wondering. You can put up the tent this time. I'll build a fire."

As Helga made the tent, she went over her thoughts that she'd been battling all day.

"_UGH , HELGA. Why do you have to be so MEAN?! Be nice for once. He needs it. He's being nice to you, why can't you quit being such a-_"  
"Hey Helga! Look! Another deer!" Arnold called, interrupting her thoughts. "Can you shoot it?"  
"Doi. Of course I can. Stand back, bucko, and watch this girl in action," Helga said, picking up the bow and arrow. She concentrated for a minute and let the arrow fly. It hit the deer perfectly, knocking it to the ground. She turned to Arnold and grinned.

"Wow, Helga! Great job! Now we have some more food," Arnold said, enthusiastic.  
"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome," Helga said. "Go grab that deer while I finish putting up this freaking tent. It's getting late." Arnold went over to the deer and dragged it over.  
"Uh...Helga, I don't know what to do with it. I've never hunted before," Arnold said, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry..."  
"Fine, I'll skin that thing and cut it up. YOU can set up everything, since you keep interrupting me, Football Head," Helga said, walking over to the deer. She pulled out a knife and grinned at Arnold in a creepy manner.  
Arnold looked around nervously, putting up the tent slowly. Helga waved the knife around and sat down, still grinning.

"Nervous, Hair Boy? Can't handle me with a weapon?" Helga asked.  
"Well, not when you're grinning like that. It's freaky!" Arnold said, backing away.  
"Yeah, Arnold, like I'd ever hurt you. Calm down" She grinned again and got to work.

Arnold watched her for a minute, still on the fence about her with a knife. He took a deep breath and finished the tent. He pushed all the bags into the tent and got to work on the fire.

"Helga, where are the matches?" Arnold asked, looking around.  
"Excuse me?" Helga said, frowning at Arnold. "Did we leave them?!"  
"Well, I made a fire...and I thought I put the matches in my bag, but I must have set them next to it."  
"No...I made another fire this morning with one of the matches. I set them next to the tent at our last campsite."  
"Neither of us picked them back up, did we?"  
"ARNOLD."  
"How are we going to make a fire, now?"  
"Uh...rub some sticks together or something."  
"Does that really work?"  
"Well, why don't you try it and find out, Football Head."

Over an hour later, they finally had a fire going and dinner cooking. They sat across from each other, the fire in the middle of them. The sun was setting, and everything around them was really gorgeous, with the sunset and the fire glowing on everything around them. They both had their eyes on the fire, and they were silent. They hadn't said a word to each other after Arnold started making a fire with sticks.

Helga raised her eyes to look at Arnold, who looked serene, and calm. She sighed. "_My love, you're so calm about our dire situation, you always look on the bright side, you always are the optimist. Oh how I hate you, for you never agree with me, for you are always so perky and happy. But oh, how I love you. I love you so much, my weird, football headed friend..._"  
Helga was working through her thoughts as she looked at Arnold. Arnold raised his eyes and saw that Helga was staring at him and smiling faintly. She quickly shifted her eyes elsewhere.

"Helga," Arnold said.  
"What, Football Head?" Helga snapped.  
"I saw that."  
"I don't know what you're talking about. Don't push the subject."  
"I'm pushing it."  
"DON'T. Or else you'll meet Old Betsy and the Five Avengers."  
"Yeah, yeah, you've been saying that since preschool."  
"I'm serious, Hair Boy."  
"I know you are. Because when you hide things, you're serious. You get vicious. Tell me, Helga."  
"It's none of your business and you know that."  
"I know it is, because you were staring at ME, Helga. If you were staring at the tree, it'd be the tree's business, not mine. But..."  
"FINE, GEEK BAIT."  
"Go on..."  
"I was staring at you, okay?! Is that too much to handle?!"  
"And smiling."  
"I was smiling because I realized I'm not in stupid Hillwood anymore."  
"Yeah, sure, Helga. Whatever you say."


	5. A New Piece to the Puzzle

Long after the fire dimmed out and Arnold decided to go to bed, Helga sat in the dark, in the glow of the moon. She stared up at the stars and wondered if she'd ever understand Arnold.

He was so giddy and happy all the time but serious at the same time. She couldn't stop thinking about how he caught her staring at him. He knew. She frowned and wondered where the heck they were in this stupid jungle. Helga sighed and got up off the ground.

She went into the tent and opened Arnold's duffel that contained the map. She grabbed it and a flashlight and snuck back outside. She sat back on the ground and examined the map.

There must be some type of course that they were following. Arnold wouldn't blindly follow a map with no course, would he? How desperate was he? She looked all over the map, from corner to corner. There really wasn't a course at all.

Helga frowned. She turned the map over and looked at the back. She shined the flashlight on it, and looked closer. Something was glimmering. She looked as close as she could and realized that there were words written on the back of the map. Helga's eyes widened. She blinked a couple times to see clearer, to make sure what she was seeing was real.

There was a message on the back, a written note, a clue. And the first word in the message read, 'Arnold'.

* * *

**_BACK IN HILLWOOD_**

Phoebe and Gerald sat in the park, reading the newspaper. It'd been a week since Arnold and Helga left. They hadn't heard anything from them, nobody had. Their faces were on the front of the Hillwood newspaper.

It asked for any information pertaining their disappearance. It said a lot of things, but Phoebe and Gerald weren't reading the words. They were just staring at Helga and Arnold's class pictures, which were the pictures chosen for the front page. They looked so happy. Well, Helga was scowling, but still.

"I miss them," Phoebe said quietly. "I hope they come back soon."  
"I know. It seems empty around here without them."  
"It doesn't seem like the police ever leave the boarding house. Or Helga's house. They're ALWAYS there. Have you seen Mrs. Pataki? She's buying liquor like it's going out of style. Mr. Pataki never leaves the Beeper Emporium, and Olga...What happened to her, again?"  
"She's in a mental institute."  
"Oh yeah. Poor Olga."  
"Arnold's grandparents are so depressed. I'm worried about them, Phoebe. Yesterday, his grandpa found out that Arnold ripped the map out of the journal. They're setting up a search and rescue team to try and find them."  
"But Gerald, they did the same thing for Arnold's parents...and they didn't find anything."  
"That's...true..." Gerald frowned and his expression turned grim. "I hope they do find Arnold and Helga. They could be in any situation right now."

Phoebe stood up. "WE HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING." She yelled. She balled up her fists and looked like she was going to cry. "Helga said they wouldn't be gone long! It's been over a month, Gerald!"  
"The police know where they went, Phoebe. Saying what we know wouldn't even help. All we know is that they went to San Lorenzo to find Arnold's parents. The police know that, now. We can't help, Phoebe," Gerald said softly. He took her hands and looked her in the eyes.

"They'll be found. It'll be okay. Just take a deep breath and relax. Let's look on the bright side. What if Arnold and Helga are with Arnold's parents? And the rescue team finds all four of them? That would be a double rescue. It would be amazing, Phoebe."

Phoebe looked at the ground and then back at Gerald. He was right. If Arnold wasn't here, who was supposed to look on the bright side? Her and Gerald had to be optimistic. They had to support their friends in this time. They needed to help console Helga and Arnold's families until they return.

"I'm going over to Helga's. I'm going to try to help console the family," Phoebe said.  
"Mrs. Pataki is the only one there. And she's drunk," Gerald said, bluntly.  
"Fine, then let's go over to Arnold's house."

About 10 minutes later, they were at the boarding house. As usual, there was a police car on the curb. There'd been one there since the first week Arnold and Helga went missing. It seemed like it never left. They walked up the stoop and knocked on the door. No one answered. Gerald frowned. He knocked again. Still no answer. Grandpa's Packard was gone. They must have left.

"Phoebe, maybe we should just go home. Let's wait until tomorrow to talk to Arnold's grandparents," Gerald said.

"Okay, Gerald," Phoebe said, quietly. They walked home together, as the hot summer sun beat down on the sidewalk. It was really hot this time of year. Phoebe wondered how hot it was in San Lorenzo. She hoped that Arnold and Helga had enough water. She hoped they were alive.

* * *

**_BACK IN SAN LORENZO_**

Helga could not stop shaking. There was a note on the back of this map, a note that Arnold's dad wrote to him. A note with a clue to where they would be. Arnold's dad knew that he and Arnold's mom might end up going missing one day. He knew from the start.

Helga raised her head up and blinked a few times. "Uh...I mean...just...whoa," She whispered.

She contemplated on telling Arnold immediately. She didn't want to wake him, but this seemed extremely important. She put the map in her pants pocket, balled up her fists and entered the tent. Arnold was snoring. But he looked like he was sleeping well, in a very deep sleep. Helga frowned.

She didn't want to wake him, but she had to. She walked over to him and poked him with a stick that she found outside the tent. He didn't move. She poked him again, but harder. She frowned. All he did was turn to his side. She'd have to do something worse. She took a deep breath and screamed.

"WHAT?! HELGA?! ARE YOU OKAY?! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Arnold awoke suddenly, violently waving his arms and legs all over the place, trying to break into consciousness.

"I'm fine, Football Head. I just needed to show ya somethin'," Helga said, calmly.  
"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" Arnold yelled at her. Helga just stared at him. That seemed to enrage him. "You didn't have to scream bloody murder! GOSH! Why didn't you just shake me awake or something?!"

"I poked you with a stick. You didn't respond. I poked you again, you shunned me. So I had to turn to the simple basics of waking someone up abruptly, Hair Boy," Helga explained with a grin on her face. "I have something amazing to show you, Arnold."  
"You need to realize that I thought you were dying, Helga. Don't do that ever again!"  
"Yeah, okay. Anyway, I found something..."  
"You need to promise me, Helga. You need to PROMISE! I almost had a heart attack!"  
"Okay, bucko, I promise. Ugh, now listen to me, I need to show you this amazing thing..."  
"If it's some stupid squirrel-"  
"It's not a freaking squirrel, Arnold! Just LISTEN TO ME!" Helga yelled.  
"Helga, you don't have to yell at me for me to listen to you," Arnold said.

"ARNOLD, I'M GOING TO BUST YOU UP IF YOU DON'T STOP CHANGING THE SUBJECT!" Helga screamed at Arnold. "But oh, if you don't want to find your parents, then that's cool. Yeah, I'll just go burn the message that your dad wrote you." She said, calmer.

That got Arnold's attention. He got out of his sleeping bag and stood up.

"What message?" He asked.  
"Oh, now you're paying attention? It took long enough! You're so difficult, Arnold."

She went through her pocket and pulled out the map. She clicked on the flashlight and shined it very closely to the back of the paper. And as clear as day, a message appeared, a full message, clearly addressed to Arnold.

"Wha...w-w-what is this?" Arnold asked, hands shaking. "How did you find this?"  
"I stole your little map to see if we were actually following any course, and I looked at the back of the map, shined the flashlight, and lo and behold, there it was, Football Head," Helga explained. "Your dad knew something would happen to them. He wrote this for you."

Arnold suddenly got very dizzy. He couldn't stand up any longer. He sat down on his sleeping bag and closed his eyes. He tried to focus. His dad knew! He knew Arnold would want to come looking for them. This was amazing. THIS must have been what his Grandpa was hiding from Arnold! He didn't want Arnold to find it. He didn't want Arnold to pursue a search for his parents. Arnold opened his eyes. He took a deep breath. Helga was looking at him, concerned. She was holding the map, and her hands were shaking as well.

"Let me see that message, Helga, please," He said.  
"Yeah, Arnold, no problem," Helga said, quietly. She handed him the map and flashlight.

Arnold shined the flashlight on the back of the map and started to read the message.

* * *

_Arnold,_  
_My son. I am writing this now as you are sleeping in your crib. You're so happy and serene, and your mom and I are very proud of you. You scare us to death, but you are our pride and joy. Cliché, but true._

_But you are amazing, Arnold. You are going to be a very smart, compassionate person. Your grandparents will raise you right. They will keep you from the truth until you are ready. I hope that what I am about to tell you, you read when you're much, much older. When you can understand the reasons behind why we are gone._

_Arnold, you have read the journal by now. You know me and your mother's work with the Green Eyed People. You know everything we've done, and the lives that we've helped save._  
_When Eduardo came to get us, Arnold, I realized that if we went with him, we would miss many of your first steps in life. We knew this mission was a tough one, and that we might not come back. We realized that we were leaving behind our whole world, to help another world far away._

_San Lorenzo had been our home for years, Arnold. So you can understand the ties we had and the pull that we felt when Eduardo told us what was going on. We looked at you, only a year old and innocent as ever, and we couldn't help but cry. We wanted to take you with us, but we knew the jungle was not safe for you. That's why we came back to Hillwood in the first place. So you could grow up with kids your age, and with your grandparents. We wanted you to have as normal a life as you could._

_Arnold, I am leaving you this message because I know you will want to delve deeper into your life and understand things better. I'm writing this just in case something happens to us. If we come back, then you will probably never read this message. But if you are now, then something has happened to us and we were gone longer than we had anticipated._  
_I wanted to write this to you, so you have a message from your father. Your grandparents can tell you everything they can, but only I and your mother can tell you things only we know. Things that weren't in the journal._

_Arnold, I'm telling you where we are going, where we will be. I am putting this on the back of the map because the map has a significance that the journal does not. I knew that you would find this map and hopefully follow it. But son, I warn you. Be careful, because there are things in the jungle that you will not expect. I do hope that you do not go alone._

_I left you this map, not to confuse you or to send you on a wild chase without any course. I left it for you to find this message, and to find the hidden map that is embedded in the original map. You need to shine the brightest light that you can on the front of the map, Arnold. As you do, pencil out the course that you see. Follow it and hopefully, you will find us. I do not know what will happen to us, or if we will be at the end of that course. But that is where we are going, and we hope that you find us. We hope to see you again._

_We love you so much, Arnold. We really want you to know that. Your mother and I will miss you more than anything in the world. We'll see you again, soon, Arnold._

_Love,_  
_Your father. (Your mother sends love, too.)_


	6. I HATE THIS JUNGLE

They kept expecting a splash.

But it never happened.

They landed on a giant, thick net, about 150 feet down the waterfall.

"H-Helga? Are you okay?" Arnold asked, coughing.  
"Yeah, I think I am...are you?" Helga replied, trying to wring the water from her pigtails. One of her hair-ties broke, so she just let her hair down.

They were soaking wet, and freezing. They looked around. Behind them was the gushing waterfall, and in front of them, was a dark cave.

"Well, there's our cave, Football Head," Helga said.  
"Yeah. Uhm... where did this net come from?" Arnold asked. He looked down at it. "It looks pretty old...I'm surprised it held up when we landed on it."  
"Well it's not like we weigh that much, Arnold-o."  
"This seems really familiar, somehow."  
"Yeah, okay. You're delirious from the fall."  
"Huh...maybe so. We need to find some sun so we can dry out our clothes...how do we get out of here?"  
"I don't know, it's pretty dark in there and I'm not going back the way we came."

They looked behind them, and looked down. There was still a good 150 feet until the river.  
They slowly turned back around and faced the cave.

Arnold and Helga slowly got up and walked into the cave. Helga pulled a flashlight out of one of the duffel bags, but it wouldn't turn on.

"Mother freaking scratcher!" She scowled.

"What?" Arnold asked.  
"The freaking flashlight doesn't work. Ughh. Stupid water." Helga replied.  
"Here, use this one. It's waterproof," Arnold said, taking a flashlight out of his backpack and handing it to her. Of course, it worked.  
"Thanks," Helge said, shining the flashlight in the cave. It wasn't too big, and it looked like it had caved in near the back, blocking whatever else was there before. They walked into the cave farther, all the way to the back. It was about 100 feet long and 50 feet wide. And cold.

"It's freaking cold in here!" Helga complained, shivering.

She handed the flashlight to Arnold and walked back to the duffel bags, near the giant net. Arnold shined the flashlight all over the place, and weirdly enough, in the corner of the cave was a big pile of wood scraps.

"Helga! Look! There's a bunch of wood over here, we can make a fire!" Arnold called.  
"Really?" Helga said, running back towards Arnold. She reached the pile of wood and grabbed armfuls of it. "I'm making a fire. We need to dry all our stuff before nightfall. Or we'll freeze to death." She ran to the middle of the cave and started to build a small wood pit.

Arnold walked over to her and sat down, watching her. He sighed. They weren't going anywhere else today.

"Well, there we go. Now let's catch it on fire!" Helga said, laughing. "You can do it."  
"Why me?" Arnold asked.  
"Because I don't want to, Football Head." Helga smiled.  
"Fine, Helga." Arnold started to get the fire going, and it got warmer in the cave.  
"Finallyyyyy," Helga said, happy. They put all their belongings around the fire to dry, and they sat near the fire to dry off as well. "It's so hot outside. It doesn't make ANY sense that it's freezing in here."  
"It's underneath a river and a waterfall, and well, it's a cave," Arnold explained.  
"Still, though."

About an hour had passed, and their stuff had mostly dried off. They were sitting on opposite sides of the fire, again, and they were silent. Arnold looked up at Helga.

"Hey Helga," Arnold said, breaking the silence. She looked up at him.  
"Yeah, Football-Head?" She replied.  
"Your hair looks pretty like that, with it down." Arnold said, smiling, and blushing a little.  
"Oh...um...thanks, Arnold," Helga replied, blushing. She smiled and looked away, blushing too.  
"Yeah. I just thought I'd tell you. You never wear it that way, so I never got the chance to tell you."  
"Well, thank you. Don't get too mushy, Hair Boy. It's just a hairstyle."  
"Okay," Arnold said, laughing. "So, is it just me or are you starving, too?"  
"I need food. Go climb up the waterfall and get me somethin'."  
"Helga. Be realistic. What are we going to eat?"

They sat there for a while and sighed. They heard a rustle behind them, and when they turned around, there was a huge wicker basket full of food and a few gallons of clean water.

"What the heck?!" Helga yelled. "Where did this come from?" She stood up and shined the flashlight throughout the cave. It was empty, aside from Arnold and Helga being there.  
"Look at all this food, Helga! We'll be set for weeks!" Arnold exclaimed.  
"Yeah, Football Head, let's eat some random food that materialized out of nowhere. THAT is a smart idea," Helga said.  
"What else are we going to eat?"  
"Arnold. If I eat that and get sick, it's your fault."  
"There's even mini pots and pans in here!" Arnold exclaimed, going through the basket. "We could cook tons of things!"

Helga frowned and sat back down next to Arnold, and peeked over his shoulder to see what was in the basket. The basket was HUGE. It had tons of food, pots and pans, water, even more first aid supplies.

They took out a pot and cooked some chicken noodle soup over the fire. After they ate dinner, they noticed that the sun had gone down, and the temperature was lower than before, even with the fire, they were cold.

"I'm so tired. Today was some crap. I'm going to bed. Who's gettin' the sleeping bag?" Helga said. Arnold thought for a minute, unzipped and laid out the sleeping bag, took a knife to it and cut it in half.  
"What are you doing, Football Head?! You just ruined it!" Helga said, loudly.  
"You get half, I get half. Calm down. And you can use your duffel bag as a pillow," Arnold replied. "Just sleep next to the fire, you'll be warm."  
"Well you could have warned me! I thought you were just cutting it up!"  
"I think before I act, Helga."  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Arnold-oooo." Helga grabbed her half of the sleeping bag and went back to her spot. She set it out and made a bed, and tried to sleep. Arnold did the same, on the opposite side of the fire. He sighed.  
"Goodnight, Helga," Arnold said.  
"Yep. Goodnight," Helga said.

Around 2:30 am, Helga woke up shivering. The fire had dimmed out to a dull flame. She rigged it up to start up again, and when the flames grew higher, she rubbed her hands together, trying to warm up. Her teeth were chattering, and she remembered that she wasn't even wearing a coat, just her white t-shirt and pink tank top, with long brown pants.

She got up and walked over to her duffel bag and unzipped it. Her mouth dropped open when she realized that she had the wrong duffel bag. All that was in this one was extra socks, her locket, an extra pair of shoes, extra undergarments, extra t-shirts and tanks, and some gloves.

In her other duffel, the one that got crushed by the tree, contained her thick, winter coat.  
Helga gritted her teeth as she took the locket out of the bag, put it in her shirt pocket, zipped up the bag and walked back to her sleeping bag. By the time she got back to her sleeping bag and sat down, she couldn't contain herself any longer. She screamed in anger.

Her scream woke Arnold up immediately. He sat up, his heart beating really fast.

"HELGA. YOU PROMISED," He said, frowning. "Why'd you scream?!"  
"I'M COLD," Helga yelled.  
"So you scream?"  
"YES! My coat was in that stupid bag that that freaking tree crushed!"  
"Oh. You still didn't have to scream."  
"Yes, yes I did, Football Head."  
"Well, maybe I have something for you to wear." Arnold got up and walked to his duffel bag. "I don't even HAVE a coat... here, wear my red plaid shirt. It's kind of thick, I guess. It's long sleeve so I'd keep you warm," Arnold said, pulling it out of his bag.

He hadn't been wearing it because the jungle was so warm anyway, he hadn't needed it. Helga took it, blinking repeatedly.

"Uh...thanks?" She said, staring at it.  
"Well, put it on already," Arnold said, skeptical.  
"Oh, yeah. Right," Helga said, putting it on. "Yeah, it's warmer, now. Thanks, Football Head."  
"Your welcome, Helga," Arnold said, smiling. He zipped the duffel bag closed and went back to sleep. Helga lay down under her sleeping bag and giggled to herself.

"_OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH! I'm wearing his shirt!_" She thought. She smiled and went back to sleep.

That morning, it was a lot warmer, but still kind of cold, because they were in the cave.

"Morning, Football Head. Eat some eggs," Helga said to Arnold when he woke up. She was making fried eggs over the fire. There was a carton of eggs in the wicker basket.  
"Eggs? Cool. Thanks Helga," Arnold said, standing up. He took one out of the pan and put it on a paper plate, another thing from the basket. "We gotta get going today. We're wasting time here."  
"Yeah, I know. I've been up for a few hours, I packed up a bunch of the dry food in the duffel bags. The other stuff, you can deal with. We need to climb out of this cave, Arnold-o. There's no other way," Helga said, raising her eyebrow. "I repeat: we have to CLIMB."

Arnold frowned and went over to the large net. He looked down, looked up and to each side. There really wasn't any other way. He sighed.

"It's going to be difficult with all of this supplies," He said.  
"Yep, that's just too bad, though. We're not leaving it," Helga said while eating.  
"Well, I never said we would, I was just saying..."  
"Dang, Arnold. Quit worrying."  
"I'm not worrying, I just don't want us to fall. We didn't expect to yesterday. But we did."  
"We're not talking about that ever again, by the way."  
"Why?"  
"Because other than that freakin' tree falling, that was the scariest thing I've ever done."  
"Me too."  
"So no more speak about it, okay, Football Head? Deal?"  
"Deal."

They cleaned up the rest of their supplies, left the basket (because it'd be impossible to bring), and they walked toward the net.  
"Here we go," Arnold said, slowly walking on the net, to the edge of the cliff.  
"I'm going to throw up," Helga said, looking down at the river.  
"No."

Arnold looked around, trying to find where they would start climbing. They both reached the end of the net, and before they knew it, they were flying up in the air.  
They both screamed as they flew up, unable to do anything. They looked down, and the net was getting smaller and smaller as they went up higher. They were flailing their arms, not knowing what to do. Helga grabbed Arnold's arm and held on tight.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" She screamed.  
"I DON'T KNOW!" He yelled back.

They kept going until a gust of wind pushed them back, landing safely in a bunch of leaves the other side of the river, right where they were trying to get to the day before. They looked around, seeing the river, the edge of the waterfall, and that they were safely on the ground.

"I. Hate. This. JUNGLE!" Helga screamed, pulling at her hair.  
"Yeah, I'm starting to, too," Arnold said. He got up, and held out his hand to Helga to help her up. She grabbed his hand and stood.

"Well, I guess now we'll start following that stupid map now, huh, Hair Boy?"  
"Yep. It looks pretty early in the day, so we might be able to make good time today."  
"Always looking on the bright side. It sickens me."  
"You're gonna have to get used to it, Helga."  
"Never, Football Head. Never."

* * *

"So...I can't figure something out..." Helga said as they pushed through trees and climbed over rocks, going through the jungle.  
"Yeah?" Arnold replied. He pushed a giant leaf out of the way so they could get through.  
"We've been in the jungle for who knows how long...and we haven't been attacked by any wild animals. At all. I mean, I've seen monkeys and deer and stuff, but nothing vicious. It's like they're hiding from us," Helga explained.  
"Yeah, I noticed that, too. This journey has been a little too easy. Something isn't right."  
"Do you think someone knows we're here? Like, someone who lives here?"  
"Like who?"  
"I don't know, Football Head. I was just wondering."

Arnold thought for a little while. There was a possibility that someone was protecting them.  
What could have explained the basket of supplies or the safety net? Arnold thought for about an hour or two as they walked through the jungle. Sometimes, Helga would speak up and complain about the monkeys throwing bananas at her or the leaves smacking her in the face.

Arnold just laughed each time and kept walking. He hadn't been paying much attention to her, because he had been thinking too much. He was in such a daze that he kept on walking and walking and didn't hear Helga yelling at him to stop.

She ran up behind him just as he walked off the cliff.

"ARNOLD!" Helga screamed as she dove to the ground, landing on her stomach, just barely catching his arms. Arnold shook out of the daze when she screamed at him and realized what he'd done.

"HELGA! Help me!" Arnold yelled. Below him was a long drop, probably a few hundred feet.  
If Helga couldn't pull him up...

"I'm trying, Football Head! You weigh a ton!" Helga said, trying to pull him up. She had her knees ground into the grass to keep her from moving, but she was slowly slipping towards the edge. "What the heck do you think you were doing?! You can't freakin walk on air!"

"I was thinking and I wasn't paying attention! I didn't watch where I was going!" Arnold said.  
"I can't pull you up!"  
"You have to!"  
"I'm...I'm not strong enough!"  
"Please, Helga, try harder!"  
"Can you get your feet onto the side of the cliff and help a little?"  
"It's too far away! The cliff is curved underneath!"  
Helga was at least 2 feet from the edge of the cliff, now. They were doomed.  
"Arnold! I can't do it!" Helga said, choking out the words as she started to cry.  
"Don't cry, Helga!" Arnold called up to her. "It's okay! We can do this!"  
"I can't lose you!"  
"You won't, Helga. You won't, okay? I promise!" He looked up and smiled at her.

She had tears running down her face as they looked at each other. Arnold's face changed into confusion as he saw a figure behind Helga.  
Helga also became confused as she saw Arnold's expression change.

"What?" Helga asked.  
"Th-th-there's someone behind you!" Arnold yelled.  
"WHAT?!" Helga yelled.

All of the sudden, the figure grabbed Helga and pulled her up from the ground, with enough strength to pull Arnold back up to solid ground. As soon as they got their footing and turned around to see the mysterious figure, the figure was gone.

"I can't breathe," Helga whispered. "I just can't BREATHE." She sat down and put her face in her hands. Arnold frowned and sat down next to her.

"It's alright, Helga. We're both okay. I'm just...seriously confused...who was that?" Arnold said. "I didn't get a fair look at him, because my view was upside down and he was more of a shadow because of the trees."

Helga still didn't look up from her hands. She took a deep breath, and cried some more.  
Arnold looked around, not sure what to do in the situation. He put his hand on Helga's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He asked. Helga looked up, her face all red from crying.  
"No, Football Head, I'm not. Alright?" Helga said, turning away, shrugging his hand off her shoulder. "Don't touch me." She got up, took the map and ran into the trees.

"Wait up, Helga!" Arnold said, chasing after her. "Tell me what's so wrong!"  
"What do you want? I'm embarrassed, okay? Why do you have to go all psychiatrist on me? I already HAVE a stupid shrink, I don't need another one!" Helga yelled, still walking.  
"I get that, okay? I just want to make sure you're okay," Arnold said, catching up to her. She was walking at normal pace, now. "I'm worried about you. What's wrong?"  
"If you don't already know by now, Football Head, you're pretty dang stupid," Helga said.  
"You don't have to be rude, Helga."  
"THINK ABOUT IT AND GET BACK TO ME." Helga walked a few feet in front and kept distance.

They stayed that way for about two hours. The sun was going down and they needed to make camp. Arnold ran up to Helga and tapped her shoulder. Helga turned to look at him, her expression softer than before. She must have calmed down.

"We need to make camp. It's getting dark," Arnold said.  
"Fine, find a place," Helga said. They walked a little farther until they found a big tree that had so many large leaves that it made a big shelter if you went underneath it.

"There." Arnold pointed to the tree and they walked toward it.

They made camp, turned on their lanterns and started a small fire. By the time they were done, the sun had gone down and the moon and stars were already up.

"Are you ready to talk or what?" Arnold said, breaking the silence.  
"Hey, hey, what's with the tone? Getting a little snippety there, aren't you, Football Head?" Helga said. Arnold smiled.  
"So?"  
"'So' what?"  
"Talk to me."  
"No."  
"Fine. We'll play a game, then."  
"A game?"  
"Yeah. Truth or dare. Without the dare."  
"So pretty much 'Interrogate Helga Until She Spontaneously Combusts'."  
"Yeah."  
"Okay, Football Head. But on one condition. I get to ask you questions, too."  
"Yeah. We'll take turns."  
"Sounds like a deal."  
"You go first. Ask away."  
"Why do you have a football head?"  
"Honestly, I have no idea."  
"That was a lame answer, Arnold."  
"My turn to ask questions. Why'd you come with me if all you ended up doing is complain?"  
"Because you couldn't go alone, and you needed someone to kick some butt if needed."  
Arnold laughed and shook his head.

"Okay, okay. That's a fair answer. Your turn."  
"Why do you wear that silly little cap? It's too small for your head, Arnold-o. Newsflash."  
"My parents gave it to me when I was little. It's like the only thing I have left of them. It's just something I can't leave in a box somewhere."  
"Oh. Dang. Understood."  
"Why do you wear that pink bow all the time? You've worn it for like 7 years."  
"Because it's my trademark, Hair Boyyy."  
"Why?"  
"HEY. ONE QUESTION A TURN."  
"Fair enough."  
"Why do you wear a skirt?"  
"It's NOT a skirt! It's my shirt and you know that, Helga."  
"Hahaha I know. I just had to ask, Football Head." Helga grinned.

She realized that they were actually getting along for once. It was actually kind of weird, but she liked it. Maybe they could finally be real friends for once. Maybe.

"Okay, Helga, one last question. The one that really matters to me," Arnold said.  
"Yeah, this one probably won't be answered, soooo...yeah," Helga said.  
"Why not?"  
"Because I know your question and you know the answer already. So it's a waste of your time."  
"I want to hear you answer me and I want to know for sure."  
"I want you to get attacked by a moose but I don't know for sure." Helga smirked.  
"Ha, okay, Helga. Let's be serious."  
"I thought we were?" Helga grinned.  
"Why were you crying when I was hanging off that cliff, Helga?"

Helga stopped grinning and her face went blank. A chill ran down her spine as she realized he was not going to drop the subject. Ever.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Arnold. Trick of the light. I wasn't crying," She said.  
"You were, too," Arnold said, as serious as stone.  
"Hey. Football Head. Quit interrogating me. You already know my reasonings."  
"You were crying because you didn't want me to die, right?"  
"Well, yeah..."  
"Yeah. Of course, I mean, that's normal. But you were more emotional about it than the normal person would be."  
"And how would you know that, Hair Boy?"  
"Because I know you, Helga."  
"No one knows me, Arnold. No one."  
"I do."  
"Fine. Explain my reasonings."  
"Because you love me. I haven't forgotten, Helga." Arnold faintly smiled and looked away.  
Helga's face turned as red as could be, and she started to twitch again.

"I don't want to talk to you ever again, Football Head," Helga said, turning completely around.  
"Stop being so dramatic and just talk to me," Arnold said, frowning. "Turn around."  
Helga frowned at the dark trees and she gritted her teeth.

"How do I get out of this one?!" Helga thought to herself.  
"Helga," Arnold repeated.  
"FINE!" Helga stood up and turned around. "SATISFIED?! I TURNED AROUND" She screamed.  
"You don't have to be so frantic about it, Helga. You can't believe for one second that I forgot about that!" Arnold said. "Just stop yelling and calm down and listen!"  
"LISTEN TO WHAT?! WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY SAY TO MAKE ME FEEL LESS EMBARRASSED?!"  
"I DON'T KNOW, HELGA, MAYBE I LOVE YOU BACK!" Arnold yelled right back at her, frowning.

Arnold stopped in his tracks, his face going completely blank, realizing what he just said.  
Helga's face went ghostly white, staring at Arnold, unable to breathe.


	7. A New Way to Travel

"Wh-wh-what did you just say?" Helga whispered, backing away.

Arnold couldn't speak. He blinked repeatedly and looked all around, everywhere except at Helga. Helga stared at him, unable to breathe.  
They stood there for a good ten minutes before Arnold spoke.

"Helga..." Arnold said. "Um..."  
"You...you said..." Helga said. "You... I mean, um...do you really?"  
"...Yeah, Helga," Arnold said, quietly. "...I do." He sighed and smiled faintly.

Helga was too shocked to even smile. Everything went blurry, and the next thing she knew, she was on the ground, waking up from passing out. Her head was throbbing, and she saw bubbles around her. Arnold was sitting next to her, concerned.

"Helga? Are you okay? You just collapsed and passed out. You hit your head on that rock!" Arnold said, worried.  
"Yeah, I'm fine, Football Head. Just shocked. Give a girl some space!" Helga said.  
She sat up, grabbed a canteen and drank a bunch of water. She sighed. Her head hurt and her vision was still blurry. She rubbed the back of her head and flinched.  
"I...I need to sleep. I need to think," Helga said, going to her sleeping bag.  
"Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow," Arnold said, going to his sleeping bag.  
"Yeah, yeah, okay, Hair Boy."  
"Are you sure you're okay?"  
"YES!" Helga said, pulling the sleeping bag over her face.

Even with everything that happened that day, Helga couldn't sleep that night. She couldn't believe what Arnold had said. She couldn't fathom the fact that he loved her back. She couldn't believe it was REAL.

It was a chilly night, so Helga snuggled close to the sleeping bag and Arnold's shirt that he let her borrow. She was close to the fire, but it was a small one, because they were underneath a tree and didn't want to catch it on fire. The fire brought little heat, and it was dying down.

That morning, Helga woke up with a numbing headache. she rubbed the back of her head again and found a bump. She frowned. She didn't know where it came from.

As she got up from her sleeping bag, she saw Arnold making some breakfast. It smelled like...pancakes? What? She grabbed her canteen and took a big drink before getting up. Arnold noticed she was awake and called her over to the fire.

"Guess what was in that basket? Pancake mix! We don't have syrup...but pancakes are good enough as is," Arnold said, very cheery for the time of morning. Helga felt a pang of suspicion. Why was he being so grinny/cheery/happy-go-lucky at 6 am?

"Pancakes? Dang, Football Head. You don't know the meaning of roughing it, do you? We're in the jungle, we're camping. Pancakes are not camping food," Helga said, smiling.  
"They are now," Arnold said, flipping a medium sized pancake onto a paper plate. "Hungry?"  
"Yeah, I'm starving. Gimme that plate of pancakes."  
Arnold handed her the plate and continued to make more. Helga looked at him with narrowed eyes.  
"Why are you so cheery, Football Head? What's with you?" Helga asked.  
"I'm just in a good mood, I guess. How are you today?" Arnold answered.  
"I have a freaking splitting headache and a giant bump on my head. How do you think I'm doing?" Helga said, frowning.  
"I was just wondering. You passed out last night and hit your head really hard. I wanted to know how you felt."  
"I did what?" Helga looked at Arnold, confused.  
"You passed out. Don't you remember?"  
"No. All I remember is us yelling at each other. Then my memory just cuts off there."  
"Are you serious?!"  
"Yes...Gosh, Football Head. Get with the program."  
"Helga. You don't remember what I told you last night?"  
"No."  
"Really?"  
"YES!"  
"Helga, it was really important..."  
"Well, you're going to have to revive my memory somehow, Football Head."  
"I don't know how."  
"Well then forget about it!"  
"Umm...okay, I guess..."

Arnold put the pancake mix away and went to wash the bowl and spatula. Helga sat at the fire wondering what was so important that Arnold had told her. She tried her hardest to remember, but her headache was keeping her from thinking at all.

Arnold sat at a small, clean pond washing the dishes. He frowned at the thought of Helga forgetting what he told her. It must have been the hit on the head. She must've forgotten the whole conversation. It must be amnesia. He was disappointed about it, because he finally told her how he felt, even though it was in a weird way, he still told her. And now she had forgotten.

Arnold sat at the pond for about 20 minutes before he heard a big rustle behind him. He looked back, expecting Helga, but all he saw was a small green jar full of liquid. It had a note attached to it, written on burlap.

_-HAVE HER DRINK THIS. SHE'LL REMEMBER._

Arnold frowned, confused. He looked around, but there was no one. All he could see was Helga off in the distance, sitting by the fire.  
Arnold realized that this was another gift. Another thing from whomever was protecting them. He grinned and ran to Helga.

"Helga! Those people, the ones protecting us, they sent us another gift!" Arnold cried.  
"Really? What is it?" Helga got up, excited. She saw the jar and frowned.  
"It's some kind of liquid. The note said it's for you."  
"For me? Why?"  
"So your amnesia will go away, and you'll remember what happened yesterday!"  
"I'm not drinking some weird juice, Football Head."  
"Please, Helga. It's safe. Everything these people have done is to protect us."  
"If I die, it's on your hands, bucko."  
"I'll take the fall."  
"Okay, okay. Gimme the freaking jar already."

Arnold opened the jar and handed it to Helga. She looked at it for a while before chugging it.  
Her face turned sour and she threw the jar at the tree.

"FREAKING JUNGLE CRAP! OH MY GOSH, THAT TASTED LIKE SALT WATER!" Helga yelled, spitting on the ground, trying to get the taste out of her mouth. "Ughh. Okay, when is this stupid potion going to work?"  
"Umm...Not sure. The note didn't say," Arnold said.  
"Great."

They waited a few hours, mostly occupying the time by packing up camp and following the map course a little more.

Helga began to feel weird. Her headache immediately went away, and the bump on her head wasn't swollen anymore. She had a ton of energy and her mind was getting less and less foggy as they walked. By the time the sun was going down, she remembered everything.

"Let's make camp by this little pond, Helga. It seems safe enough," Arnold said, pointing to the location. "Drop the bags over there."  
They set up the camp and had a fire going before Helga said anything. They were cooking some more deer meat when she spoke up.  
"Hey, Football Head," She said. "Listen up. I have something to tell you."  
"Yeah, Helga?" Arnold said, looking up from the fire.  
"I...I remember now."  
"You do?"  
"Yeah. I do."  
"Tell me what you remember, so I can be clear that you remember the right thing."  
"Um...You said...you said that you loved me back," Helga said, really quickly.  
"So you do remember."  
"YES! Why do you have to keep questioning me?"  
"I was just making sure, Helga. It was important."  
"So...what now?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"I don't know, Arnold-o. Is everything going to be different now that you know, we've both confessed that we...uh... love each other?"  
"I don't want to ruin things."  
"Would it?"  
"I don't know."  
"It's been a year since I told you. We agreed that it was the 'heat of the moment', but you and I know very well that it wasn't. Then we went on like it didn't happen. I don't want that to happen again, Arnold."  
"Well, um...okay."  
"Okay."

* * *

**BACK IN HILLWOOD**

Phoebe and Gerald were sitting at Arnold's house, with the rest of the group, talking. They were sitting on his front stoop.

"They've been gone ever-so long. I'm worried," Lila squeaked. She wasn't smiling.  
"What if they got attacked by wild animals?" Sid asked.  
"What?!"  
"Sid, don't scare Lila like that, jeez," Gerald said. "They're okay. They're both smart. They're most likely alive. I bet they're close to finding something."  
"I just can't believe they were willing to go out in the jungle. Ughh," Rhonda said.  
"It's not that bad. I lived in the zoo for a whole month once," Curly said, grinning.

Everyone looked at Curly and slowly backed away from him a little bit.

"Maybe we should go help them!" Lila said. "They may need assistance."  
"We'd never find them. They're so far into the jungle by now, it's impossible. The rescue team has been out there for weeks now. They haven't found anything," Phoebe said.  
"Wilikers. They must be starving or lost for sure," Stinky said.  
"They're too smart to starve or get lost. They're probably fine," Gerald said.  
"So what did the cops say when you told them that they'd told you where they were going?" Sid asked.  
"They told us that we should have said something the moment we found out."  
"We're they mad?" Harold asked. "I bet they were really mad."  
"No, they just gave us a warning and told us not to hide things like that ever again."  
"Oh. That's lame."  
"Do you think Arnold and Helga will go to juvie for this?" Sid asked.  
"Probably not..." Phoebe said. "They'll probably be in BIG trouble, though. Even if they do find his parents."  
"They'd probably be on house arrest," Rhonda said, filing her fingernails.  
"That'd be crazy," Stinky said.  
"I was on house arrest once. For letting all the animals out at the zoo," Curly said, laughing maniacally.

Everyone turned and looked at Curly for a moment, then continued talking.

"When do you think they're coming back? I mean, if they come back," Sid asked.  
"No one knows, Sid," Gerald said, looking down at the ground.  
"I wish we had some way to contact them. I bet they're ever-so lonely out there," Lila said.  
"I bet Arnold's going crazy, what with Helga Pataki with him," Rhonda said.  
"I bet they fight a lot," Sid said.  
"What if they split up and went different ways? What if they're both lost?" Stinky asked.  
"What if they're cold? It's ever-so freezing at night!" Lila squeaked.

Everyone was talking at once, coming up with different scenarios on what's going on.  
Phoebe and Gerald looked at each other and sighed.

"Guys. GUYS!" Gerald yelled, controlling the situation. "They're fine. If I know Arnold, they're perfectly okay."  
"Helga can be difficult at times, but I'm sure they haven't split up. They're not stupid. We just have to have faith in them and know that they are coming home," Phoebe said. "They might even be on their way back. We don't know what's happening."

* * *

**BACK IN SAN LORENZO**

Helga and Arnold walked through the jungle, finally not fighting for once. They were actually getting along, finally happy. Best yet, as they walked, they held hands.

"Helga, we've been making good time. We're almost half way through this map!" Arnold said, grinning. Helga smiled at him  
"Good. Then maybe we can find your parents and get home," Helga said.  
"Do you think we actually have a chance of finding them?"  
"I sure hope so, Football Head-OWW!" Helga said, tripping over something large. They both fell, hitting the dirt hard.  
"WHAT THE HECK?!" Helga yelled, looking behind her to see what she tripped over.  
"What...what is that?" Arnold asked, brushing the dirt off of him. Helga crawled over to it and pushed the leaves and dirt off of it.

It was an airplane.

Arnold's eyes grew large as he realized who the plane belonged to. He got up and ran to it, uncovering as much of it as he could, as fast as he could. He couldn't breathe, he could barely function, his hands were shaking so bad that he could barely push dirt off of the windshield.

The plane was in one piece, but the windshield was cracked. The whole plane was a bit rusted, but it looked like it had been taken care of as it sat here in the jungle. Arnold climbed into the cockpit and searched around.

"What are you doing, Arnold-o?" Helga asked, impatient.  
"Helga..." Arnold said quietly, as he searched. "This...this airplane..."  
"What?"

Arnold shoved his arm underneath the seat and found a piece of paper. His eyes grew large as he pulled it out and looked at it. It was a photo.

A photo of him and his parents.

* * *

"Helga! This was my parent's airplane!" Arnold cried.  
"WHAT?!" Helga yelled as she ran towards Arnold. "Does it still work?!"  
"No, but maybe we could get it to! We could get to my parents faster! There are even helmets still in here!"  
"This is amazing. Hey...What's in your hand?"  
Arnold looked down at the picture of him and his parents. "Oh. This picture is of me and my parents, when I was a baby..." Arnold said quietly. He handed the picture to Helga.  
"Oh...wow," Helga said.  
"Yeah."  
"Your mom is really pretty."  
"Thanks."  
"You look like your dad! Whoa. You really do."  
"Ha, really? Thanks Helga."  
"No problem, Football Head. Now...let's hot-wire this baby and go flying!"  
"Do you know how to hot-wire an airplane?!"  
"Arnold, you underestimate me very, very intensely."

Arnold looked at her with wide eyes. Helga grinned and climbed into the airplane cockpit.

"Move. I need some space," Helga said, pushing Arnold out of the plane.  
"Wait, Helga, we need to get this thing out on flat ground before we start it up," Arnold said.  
"Aaaah, whatever, Arnold. Ruin my fun..." Helga hopped out of the plane and stood next to Arnold, examining the airplane. It was nudged next to a giant tree. And, well, it was a plane.  
How were they going to move it?

"I have some rope, maybe we can tie it to the plane and somehow move it," Arnold said.  
"...Tie it to what?" Helga asked, smirking.

Arnold looked around and saw a few big boulders next to a cliff.

"Those. And then we push them off the cliff, and the plane moves. Voilà!"  
"And the plane goes with them."  
"Not if we quickly cut the rope with my knives."  
"And what if we try that, but the plane moves so fast that it hits us as we're cutting the rope? Yeah, Hair Boy, we'd end up falling off cliffs again."  
"What else are we going to do? Push the plane?"  
"It's not life threatening."  
"...Wait. Wait a second. What if you DO hot-wire the plane, get it started, and we try pushing the plane, while the plane is actually on?"  
"That makes ONE of us in the plane and ONE of us on the ground."  
"You'd be in the plane, Helga. I'll try to jump in the backseat after you get going."  
Helga sighed. "Well, it's worth a try, Football Head. Worth a try."

10 minutes later, they had most of the leaves/dirt/rocks pushed off the plane, the bags stowed away in the compartments, helmets on, and Helga in the front seat of the plane, ready to hot-wire the engine.

"Arnold, we forgot something extremely important," Helga said as Arnold was securing his helmet. He looked up at her.  
"Yeah?" Arnold replied.  
"Is there even gas in this stupid plane?"  
"Oh crap."  
"Why don't you make yourself useful and go check?"  
"Doesn't it say it on the gas meter in the cockpit?" Arnold asked.  
"The glass is busted. I can't read it. Just open the freakin tank and look inside."  
"Let me look, Helga."

Arnold climbed up on the wing and looked at the meter. He squinted his eyes to try to see the gauge. He could barely make out what it said, but to his surprise, it said the tank was about half full.

"It's half full," Arnold said. "Try to get the engine on."  
"Well then you're going to have to get out and push the plane, Football Head," Helga said.  
"Is it possible to get the plane out of this position without pushing it? The plane is big, Helga. I might not be able to jump in before you take off into the sky. I underestimated the height of the plane. I don't think I could get in before you took off."  
"We could try it, but I'm not guaranteeing that this hot-wiring is gonna work. I haven't necessarily done this to a plane, just a car..."  
"Are you serious?!"  
"Yeah but we're not discussing it."  
"Who's car did you steal, Helga?!"  
"I put it back when I was done, Football Head."  
"Helga."  
"Nope. My lips are sealed!"

Helga bent down to fix up the wires and junk to get the plane started. It seemed like forever that they were sitting there, all buckled up an ready to go. But before Arnold could ask Helga what was taking so long, the engine started to sputter, and then it started to growl like an engine should. The propellers started to spin, and Helga looked behind her at Arnold and grinned.

She lowered the flying glasses that were connected to her helmet, and Arnold did the same. She took a hold of the steering wheel and started the plane. It screeched and had a hard time moving, but after a couple of minutes, the plane was free. They were heading for the cliff.

"Helga, are you sure you can fly this thing?" Arnold yelled over the noise of the plane.  
"I've done worse!" Helga yelled back, turning around again to grin.  
"Turn back around! You're insane!"  
"Thanks!"

They were approaching the cliff very fast, and seconds later, they were airborne.  
They both screamed as the plane went up, down, and up again, until Helga got it to fly straight.

"Tell me which way to fly, Football Head!" Helga yelled.  
"East!" Arnold yelled back. He looked down at the map. With the plane, they would find his parents within days. "Keep heading east until I tap your shoulder. Then head north!"  
"Aye, aye, Captain Football!"

They flew for a few minutes before Arnold tapped her shoulder. Each time they needed to turn and go a different direction, he would tap her shoulder and notify her.

The plane flew pretty smoothly, except for a few sputters, it coasted along pretty well.  
They flew for a couple hours before they needed to land for the night.

"Helga! Do you know how to land this thing?" Arnold yelled over the noise.  
"No!" Helga yelled back.  
"Then how are we getting back on the ground?"  
"I'll try to land and see what happens, Football Head! Have some faith in me!"

Helga looked down to find some flat ground. It took a few minutes, but she finally found a spot that was somewhat of a landing place. She grinned and turned around sharply. They both were pushed against the side of the interior of the plane.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Arnold yelled, rubbing his side.  
"Landing!" Helga yelled back, laughing maniacally.

Arnold looked down and saw that they were getting closer to the ground. His heart dropped. The ground was approaching faster and faster until they were only a few feet away. Helga somehow pulled the brakes and landed, roughly, on the flat ground. The brakes barely worked, and the plane slid a good 40 feet until stopping. It had stopped right in front of a cluster of trees.

"Next time, I'm flying," Arnold said, shaken up by the landing. He unbuckled his seatbelt.  
"Pssshaaa. who got us in the air, miles and miles past where we would have been if we were walking on foot, AND who got us safely on the ground again? Helga G. Pataki. Yeah. No, you are NOT flying, Football Head. _You_ would kill us," Helga said, climbing out of the plane.  
"Yeah, but who almost killed us? You."  
"You direct me where to fly. That's your job, bucko. Nothin' else. Deal with it."

Arnold frowned at her and opened the compartment where the bags were stowed.

"Where are we going to make camp?" He asked.  
"We could sleep in the plane," Helga replied.  
"The plane? That's a terrible place to sleep!"  
"I've slept in terrible places before, Football Head. A plane is not that bad. And we wouldn't be on the ground, we'd be safely in that heap of metal."  
"We still need a fire, Helga."  
"Then go make one, Arnollllld."  
"You're helping me. I'm not doing it all by myself." Arnold grabbed her arm and pulled her along with him.

They collected firewood and built a fire around 30 feet from the airplane.  
It was getting dark. They walked half the day, then flew the remainder, so they had a pretty eventful day.

"What do you want for dinner?" Arnold asked, going through the food supply.  
"What do we have?" Helga asked, poking leaves onto a stick and burning them in the fire.  
"Well, we have beef jerky, or we have more soup. Anything else would take longer to make."  
"Gimme the jerky. You can decide on what you want."  
Arnold handed Helga the container of jerky and pulled out the contents needed for soup.

"So...Arnold. I have something to ask you," Helga said, a few minutes later.  
"Yeah?" Arnold replied, cooking the soup over the fire.  
"You...uh...you said you loved me, right? Yeah, okay. So, you never told me why..."  
"Oh. Right, I didn't, did I?"  
"No, Football Head."  
"Okay. Well, umm...ok let me see if I can word this right. I guess it's because you are the only one that I really know. I get along with you in a different way than anyone else. There's this connection I have with you that I don't have with anyone else, and it's really cool...  
...Yeah, you pick on me, but I know why you do. I understand that. I know that you have a really sweet side to your rough personality and I like that about you. And you've helped me with a lot of life things, and I've helped you. I really do think we understand each other.  
Plus, you were brave enough to risk your life to come with me to the jungle. You're funny and you can be really cool a lot of the time. And I don't care what anyone says...I-I think you're really pretty. Yeah."

Helga just sat there for a minute, thinking about what he just said. She smiled.

"Wow, Arnold...thanks...that's really sweet," Helga said.  
"No problem, Helga. You asked, and I needed to tell you, anyway," Arnold said, smiling.  
"Sorry my whole confession was a bit...insane. It was crazy. I was overwhelmed about the whole 'saving the neighborhood' thing and that you found out I was Deep Voice, so...I kind of blurted everything out. A lot of it I didn't mean to say, and didn't want to reveal. I meant it all, but I didn't mean to tell you like that... I must have sounded completely insane."  
"It's okay, Helga. I'm glad you told me, nonetheless. No more secrets?"  
"No more secrets, Football Head. No more."

The next day, they got everything packed back up in the plane and climbed into it.

"Are you ready to flyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?" Helga yelled.  
Arnold laughed. "Yes, Helga. Start the plane. Don't kill us, okay?" He said.  
"Yeah, no promises, but let's pretend I won't."

They buckled their seat belts and put on their helmets, and Helga started up the plane. The take off was a little rough, because they had to get away from the trees. In the process, the propellers ripped up a bunch of leaves and shredded the grass, but other than that, it was okay. They were in the air in minutes, and it was smoother than yesterday.

"Helga, if we fly all day today, and half of tomorrow..." Arnold yelled and then cut off. He was silent for a few minutes.  
"Okay...continue..." Helga replied, turning left.  
"Helga. We'll be at the end of the map."  
"Are you nervous, Football Head?"  
"Well, yes, of course I am. But we need to come up with a plan. We should land at least a mile or two away from the end of the map. We don't know what will be at the end, and the plane might notify whoever is there...and start a chain reaction or something."  
"Okay, we'll do that."

They flew all day. At sunset, they made camp, and at dawn, they continued to fly.  
They were getting closer and closer to the end of the map, they were getting nervous but excited at the same time. They didn't know what they would find, but at least they'd have an airplane to get back home afterwards. Hopefully, Arnold's parents would be with them.

"Helga, we need to land, now. We're a few miles away from the end of the map...we can't go any farther," Arnold yelled over the noise of the plane.  
"Aye aye, Captain Football! Lemme find a place to land and we'll be good to go," Helga replied. "We need to leave the plane somewhere safe so we can get back to it!"  
"We'll just cover it in leaves, rocks and dirt like it was before! Where it was before, it looked like it had been there since my parents got here. It'll be safe!"  
"WARNING! I'm landing the plane!" Helga jerked to the right and took the plane into a nosedive, straight for the trees.  
"HELGA WATCH OUT!" Arnold yelled, clutching his seatbelt extremely tight.  
"Calm down, Football Head, you're fine," Helga yelled.

They coasted down near the ground and landed safer than they did the first time they landed. Helga hopped out of the airplane and grinned.

"See? You need to have some faith in me, Arnold-o. I can fly a plane," Helga said.  
Arnold was still sitting in the plane, still kind of freaked out.  
"Yeah, Helga, okay..." Arnold said, slowly unbuckling his seatbelt and hopping out of the plane. He opened the compartment where the bags were and grabbed them.  
"Let's get going. My watch says it's around noon, so a couple miles won't take us very long if we rush," Arnold said, handing Helga her duffel bag.  
"Okay, Arnold, let's go save your parents!" Helga said, excited.

The ran off in the direction the map said to go. They ran as long as they could, before stopping for water.

"We're...about...half way..." Arnold said, panting from a solid mile-long run.  
"Ugh. Why do we need to run?" Helga said, coughing. She took a big gulp from her canteen. "My ribs ache. Can't we walk?"  
"We need to get there fast, Helga." Arnold took a drink from his canteen as well.  
"Ughh. Fine, Hair Boy, fine. By the time we get there, we won't have any energy left."  
"Yes we will, calm down. Let's start running again."

They started to run, but halfway through their run, Arnold tripped over a vine.

"Arnold!" Helga exclaimed, running back to where he fell. "Are you okay?"  
"Yeah, I'm okay, thanks. But I cut my arm up on some rocks..." Arnold said, holding out his right arm.  
"Okay, hang on..." Helga said, reaching for the first aid kit. She cleaned up his wound and wrapped it in white gauze. "Better?"  
"Yeah, Helga. Thanks." Arnold smiled.

They got up, and Arnold looked at the map, and at the very end of the course, there was a note. It said,

-When you get to the end of the map, you'll find a bush with large, purple flowers with blue stripes. You will know that you are where you need to be when you find the flower bush.

They continued to run, and ended up running a mile more, until they couldn't run anymore. They started to walk, looking around for a purple flower bush. They turned a little to the left and there it was. It was NOT hard to miss at all. The bush was huge, the size of a car, full of purple, blue striped flowers. It was gorgeous, but they didn't know what to do next.

"We're at the end of the map, Helga," Arnold said, quietly. He kept his gaze on the flowers.  
"What do we do next?" Helga replied.  
"We go past the flowers...and see what we find."

Arnold looked at Helga and grabbed her hand.  
They both faintly smiled, and walked slowly past the flower bush.


	8. Guards Everywhere

They couldn't necessarily walk past the bush, because it was huge, so instead, they walked through it. They were almost through it when Arnold stopped.

"Arnold, we need to keep going, before I get stuck in this stupid bush!" Helga said.  
"Sshhh, Helga. Listen," Arnold whispered. Helga quieted down and listened.

There were voices, mostly men, a few women. They all sounded mean.

Completely hidden within the bush, Helga and Arnold pushed some of the leaves away and peeked through to see who the voices belonged to. They could see the people, but the people couldn't see them.

There were a bunch of shacks, a few tree-houses, some military-looking cars, cages of chickens, bonfires, an airplane, and a bunch of mean looking people walking around.

"What now, Football Head?" Helga whispered. "They look armed."  
"They probably are..." Arnold replied. "Do you see my parents anywhere?"  
"I barely know what they look like."

Arnold went through his pocket and pulled out the picture from the plane. He gave it to Helga.

"Oh. Right," Helga whispered, looking at the picture.  
"Keep it," Arnold whispered.  
"I can't, it's yours."  
"I have one at home. You can have this one, Helga."  
"Fine, Football Head, I'll keep it. Thanks." She put it in the pocket of the plaid shirt Arnold let her borrow. She moved the leaves away again and looked at the sight before them.  
"What do we do? Should we just sneak in?" Helga asked.  
"No." Arnold replied. "We'd get caught for sure."

"MOVE IT! GET TO THE KITCHEN!" Yelled one of the inhabitants from the camp.  
Arnold and Helga immediately turned to see who yelled. It was a huge guy, probably 6 feet tall, with huge muscles and a buzz cut hair style. He was pushing two handcuffed people through the grass toward a shack.

"Helga..." Arnold whispered. "Those are my...those people..."  
"What?" Helga asked, looking closer at the couple. "Oh. Oh Arnold, no..."  
"Those are my parents."  
"We have to go get them!" Helga started to move forward but Arnold pulled her back.  
"No, Helga, we can't do that, we'll get caught!"  
"We're going to get caught either way, so might as well notify your parents that we're here."  
"No."  
Helga frowned and sighed. "FINE, ARNOLD."  
"We have to get into that kitchen."  
"How?"  
"We'll go around."

They got out of the purple flower bush and walked left. They walked in a curved way, so they'd end up behind the kitchen shack. They tried to be as quiet as possible.  
By the time they reached the shack, they could hear a faucet running and dishes clinking together.

There was a large window on the back of the shack, about 5 feet up. It was really dirty.  
Arnold and Helga stood on their tip toes and looked through the window.  
Arnold's parents were in there, doing dishes. They looked exhausted.

There were no guards in the kitchen.

"They must be on the outside," Helga whispered.  
"We need to get my parent's attention, Helga," Arnold whispered back.  
"Tap the window."

Arnold took a deep breath, and tapped the window. His mom looked up from the dishes and looked around. He tapped the window again. She looked toward the window and frowned. She turned to Arnold's dad and shook his shoulder. He looked confused until she pointed at the window. They both looked completely confused.  
Miles and Stella walked to the window and tried to pry it open.

They were face to face with Arnold, with the glass in between them. Arnold couldn't move. He was frozen, and his heart was beating super fast. Arnold's dad frowned as he tried to open the window. It was rusted closed, but after a few minutes, he got the window to slide open.

"Dad?!" Arnold said, choking out the word. "Mom?!"  
"Who are you?" Miles asked.  
"Dad, it's me, your son! Arnold!"  
"A-A-ARNOLD?!"  
"Yeah, Dad, it's me!"  
"Oh Miles...it's really Arnold..." Stella cried. She started crying.  
"Dad! Your map, your message...I found you guys!"

Stella walked over to a chair to sit down. Miles moved closer to Arnold and started to talk in a hushed tone.

"Arnold, listen to me. You both need to be as quiet as you can. These guards are brutal and they will capture you. We've been here for 8 years, Arnold. We haven't been able to escape."  
"Climb through the window already! Jeez, it's THAT easy!" Helga spoke up. She grinned.  
"Who is this, Arnold?" Stella asked, standing up. She wiped her eyes and smiled. "Introduce us to your pretty little friend."  
"This is Helga...she's my...um...she's my girlfriend," Arnold said, blushing.  
"I am?" Helga asked, surprised. She blushed as well.  
"Well, if you want..." Arnold looked away.

He looked back and smiled faintly. Helga smiled back. Miles and Stella looked at each other and smiled.

"Doi, Football Head." Helga turned to Arnold's parents. "Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs...uh..."  
"You can call us Miles and Stella," Miles said. "Nice to meet you too, Helga."  
"Nice to meet you, sweetie," Stella said.  
"Can you guys climb through the window?" Arnold asked, still smiling.  
"We could try, honey, but it would make a lot of noise."  
"Please, Mom, please try!"  
"We'll try, Arnold. Would you help us on the ground when we climb out?"  
"Of course." Arnold and Helga said at the same time.

Miles and Stella looked behind them to make sure the guard wasn't looking. Miles went over and turned the water faucet back on, to make it look like they were still doing dishes.

He walked back and they both climbed up onto the counter underneath the window.  
They propped up the window with a bunch of pans, and climbed out the window.  
Arnold and Helga helped them down on the ground, and all four of them ran to the right.

"We have your airplane! We can fly home!" Arnold said, as they were running. "We flew a few miles here, so the plane still works!"  
"YOU FLEW AN AIRPLANE?!" Miles and Stella exclaimed at the same time.  
"Well, I flew the plane, and Arnold nagged me the whole time, but yes," Helga said.

They stopped a mile away at a nearby pond. Helga collapsed on the ground and took a drink out of her canteen.  
Arnold looked up at his parents, ran up to them and hugged them. They all started to cry.  
But they were tears of happiness, not sadness.

"I missed you guys so much!" Arnold choked out.  
"We missed you more than anything, Arnold," Stella said.  
"We love you so much. You don't even know," Miles said.  
"I'm sorry that it took me so long to come and find you..." Arnold said quietly.  
"It wasn't your job to come and find us, Arnold. It isn't your fault that we were gone so long. It's amazing, though, that you actually came this far, just you and Helga...Wait, WHAT were you thinking, coming alone?!"

"No one would have let me go. We had to just up and leave, Dad. We had no choice. I found the map, and I couldn't just do nothing about it.."  
"That was a very dangerous thing for you two to do...but...thank you."  
"We need to get out of here. The guards probably realized we were gone by now," Stella said.

"Correct, Stella. You four should have run farther." La Sombra said, with 20 large guards behind him. "Grab them. Put them away." He said to his guards.

"NO!" Arnold screamed as the guards attacked and grabbed all four of them. They tried to run, but there were too many people. "MOM! DAD! HELGA!" Arnold yelled as he was carried away, in a different direction than the others.

Arnold was taken to a nearby shack and pushed into a chair.  
La Sombra walked up to him and narrowed his eyes. Arnold backed up as far as he could.

"Who are you?" La Sombra asked.  
"Arnold," Arnold replied, trying not to smile.  
"I don't care what your name is. Where did you come from and why are you here?"  
"I came from the United States...to rescue my parents."  
"Oohhhhh. I see. Miles and Stella are _your_ parents? YOU are the infamous Arnold they're always whining about going back to. You've been a very big annoyance here without even being here, kid."  
"Well at least my parents didn't forget about me."  
"Yeah, okay, big deal. I've heard enough about you. And now that you're here, you infuriate me even more than you did before."

"Well I'm sorry I make you mad, but that's no reason to keep my parents hostage."  
"They're not here because we dislike you, Arnold."  
"Why are they here?"  
"Because we know they have a deep connection with the Green Eyed People. They have the cure for the sleeping sickness. As long as your parents are here, the Green Eyed People will want to save them and they'll have to show up eventually. Then we'll capture them and gain control over San Lorenzo!"  
"Why do you stupid bad guys always reveal your weak plans to your captives? You are SUCH A CLICHÉ."  
"It won't matter. You won't have anyone to tell this plan to except for your annoying, useless parents and that ugly little blonde girl with that ratty bow and uni-brow."  
"Don't. You. Insult. My. Family."  
"What are you going to do about it? You're just some stupid, football headed kid, without any help in this jungle. No one knows where you are. Your parents have been here for 8 years. If they had any help, do you think they'd still be here? No. You'll stay here, just like they've stayed here. You are helpless, Arnold."  
"LET ME GO!"  
"Gladly." La Sombra smiled and turned to the guard at the door. "Take him away."

Arnold's eyes widened as the large guard grabbed him and carried him out of the room, out across the campsite, and through a few trees.

Arnold was thrown into a small, dark shack, with cement floors and a tiny light bulb hanging from the ceiling that made a very minimal light. The door slammed shut and Arnold could hear a lock go into place. He stood up and ran to the door. He punched it and smacked it and yelled all he could, but no one came to save him.

"It won't work, Football Head," Helga said quietly. She was sitting in the corner of the room, where almost no light was shining.  
"Helga! Oh my gosh! You scared me! Are you okay?" Arnold exclaimed, running toward her.  
"No, I'm not okay."  
"What?"  
"I got a freakin black eye from one of those chick guards out there. I put up a fight and she ended up elbowing me in the eye. Then I was chucked in here. Did a deal on my freakin bruised ribs. I think I actually broke one this time"  
"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry, Helga..."  
"It isn't your fault. Quit blaming yourself."  
"It is my fault, Helga. I dragged you here with me..."  
"No. I came here with you willingly, Arnold. Imagine if you'd have gone alone."  
"But Helga, we may never get out of here..."  
"Hillwood is overrated."  
"Are you serious? We could be here, held hostage, for the rest of our lives. Be slaves!"  
"Mehh, at least I'd be with you, Football Head. But...I'm not going to be a slave to those geek bait freaks out there." Helga smiled.

Arnold smiled back, leaned closer to her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Oh, I get it. All I deserve is a cheek kiss? Weak, Arnold. Weak," Helga muttered.  
"What? That wasn't ok?"  
"Meh," Helga smirked.  
"Fine, then."  
Arnold leaned closer to Helga and kissed her on the lips.  
Helga blushed and turned completely red. "_OH MY GOSH HE KISSED ME!" _Helga thought.  
"Oh, um... thank you?" She said.

"I...I love you, Helga," Arnold said. "I promise you, no matter what, we won't end up as slaves."  
Helga grinned, looked away, then sighed. She looked around, looked at her torn up, ratty clothes and her messed up hair.  
"I love you too, Arnold. I really mean it..." She looked around the shack. "We need to escape soon, get your parents, and leave. Go somewhere safe. Somewhere that's NOT the jungle." Helga said.  
"How are we going to escape?" Arnold asked.

They looked up at the shack, at what they had to work with. There wasn't even a window in there. Just a light bulb hanging from the ceiling, and a pad-locked door.

This wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

They'd been stuck for at least 2 days. They couldn't tell if it was still day or if night had fallen.  
The only way they saw sunlight was when the guards opened the door, threw food and water canteens in the shack, and then quickly shut the door.  
It was cold in the shack, a draft came through the ceiling, and it didn't help that the floor was cement.

"We need to try something else," Helga said, desperate. She was pacing the shack.  
"We've been trying to get out of here for hours, Helga. It isn't happening," Arnold grumbled."There is NO way out, except for that door!"

Arnold collapsed to the ground, lay down with his face on the ground, and sighed in defeat.

"Get up," Helga demanded.  
"No," Arnold grumbled.  
"YES!" Helga walked up to Arnold and grabbed his arms and pulled him up to his feet.  
"Helga..."  
"No. WE'RE _NOT_ DOING THIS!"  
"I give up, Helga. It's useless." Arnold started to hyperventilate, eyes darting around the room. "We're never getting out of here...I'm never going home...never seeing Hillwood again...never-"  
Helga interrupted him by smacking him across the cheek.  
"CALM IT!" She yelled.

Arnold rubbed his cheek and frowned.

"Ehh. Thanks, I guess..." He mumbled.  
"Put your annoying little determined-I'm-saving-my-parents-no-matter-what face back on and pull yourself out of this or I'm never talking to you ever again!" Helga screamed.

Arnold's eyes widened and he backed up. He looked down at his feet and sighed.

"You're right, Helga...I'm sorry. All of this just hit me like a ton of bricks..." He said.  
"Yeah, well, how do you think I feel?! Ever stopped to think about that?"  
"Yes, of course-"  
"No, you didn't."  
"Helga."  
"Arnold. Stop. It's never been about me."  
"What? What do you mean by that? I asked you to come with me!"  
"To help YOU. To find YOUR parents. YOU, YOUR, YOU YOU YOU."  
"...But I thought-"  
"No. I came here with you because of so many reasons...but I'm at the end of my rope, Arnold. I am. I really am. And now you're being a wuss and giving up when we're so freaking close it isn't even funny anymore! I came here for YOU. FOR YOU! Now think about MY feelings for once. You're not the only one lost! Okay?! At least if we stay here, you'll have your parents! I WON'T HAVE ANYONE EXCEPT YOU!"  
"Oh...I never thought of it like that...Oh, Helga-"

"Stop. Just stop. Look, I love you and everything, and you're important to me. But I'm not spending my life in this crap hole. We're going home and so are your parents. You will NOT give up. You will NOT stop being your brave self. YOU WON'T. Do you understand me?!"  
"Yeah..."  
"DO YOU?!" Helga grabbed his shirt collar and stared him blank in the eyes.  
"Yes, Helga! Okay? I'm sorry! I won't do this again..."  
Helga let him go and said, "You better not. We need enough strength for the both of us and I don't have that! I need your strength, too- OUCH!" Helga clutched her rib, throbbing in pain.  
"What?! Your rib again?"  
"Yeahh...all of the yelling made my rib really hurt."  
"You didn't have to yell at me."  
"Yeah... yeah I did."

* * *

A few hours later, Helga was asleep in the corner, cuddled up with her duffel bag and Arnold's flannel shirt.  
Arnold was sitting by the door, looking for some sort of way to unhinge it or something.  
He was desperate.

He looked all around the shack, and in the corner, there was an old, rotting, medium sized crate. He drug it over to underneath the hanging lightbulb, and climbed up on it. He grabbed the wire that the lightbulb was hanging on, and moved the lightbulb closer to pieces of the room, trying to find nooks or cracks or something that they could break.

But there was nothing. This shack was sturdy and unbreakable, it seemed. He got down off the crate and sighed. He looked at the crate. It was heavy. Was there something in there?  
He kicked in the old wood side, knelt down and peered inside. Nothing.

"Ughh. I guess it was heavy because of the wood..." Arnold mumbled. He looked around the shed again and his eye caught something. Over where the crate had been sitting.

There was a hole, leading down into a tunnel. Arnold's jaw dropped.  
The dust around the hole was in a square shape, and it made it look like the crate had not been moved in years. He caught his breath.

Arnold walked over to the tunnel and peered inside. It was dark. Really dark. They had a flashlight, but it was in Helga's duffel bag. He didn't want to wake her after the long day.  
He needed sleep as well, he thought.  
Arnold pushed the old crate back to it's spot above the tunnel, turning it just so, so that if the guards looked at it, they couldn't see the hole Arnold kicked in the side.  
He lay down on the ground and made a pillow from his duffel bag and fell asleep.

The next day, Arnold and Helga were awakened by the door opening and the guards yelling for them to wake up.

"TIME FOR YOUR CHORES. GET UP AND GET TO THE KITCHEN," the guard barked.  
"And who's gonna make me?" Helga protested.  
"You want to be smart, little girl?"  
"Yeah, what if I do? What are you gonna do about it, bucko?"  
"Look, we will not tolerate you and your ugly little eyebrow, terrible attitude and ratty clothing! You are a nuisance and have been nothing but a bother. Do what you're told or we'll put you in solitary confinement!"  
"You and what army?"

"Helga, quit...just stop..." Arnold whispered.

"You want to keep going? Keep it up, little girl. See what happens," The guard barked.  
"Yeah, I-" Helga started to say, but Arnold elbowed her in the arm.  
"Stop, Helga!" He said.  
"Hey! He's not my boss, I don't have to listen to him!"  
"YES YOU DO." Arnold lowered his voice to a dull whisper. "If we want to escape, we have to stay in this shack, Helga...I'll show you how later."  
"What?" Her eyes widened and she turned to the guard. "Fine, bucko, I'll go do your measly little chores. But I refused to be pushed around!"  
"You'll do what we tell you and you will like it. Now get into the kitchen and clean the floors!" The guard barked again. "NOW!"  
Arnold and Helga walked toward the door, meeting two other guards on the other side. The guards took their arms and led them to the kitchen.

They were pushed into the kitchen, and both Arnold and Helga collapsed down on the ground.  
"BE GENTLE, AT LEAST!" Helga yelled. "Ughh."  
"Rags and soap are in that bin. Use water. Be sure to scrub hard. The guards last in here had been in the mud all morning. It's pretty dried up. Get to work," The guard barked as he slammed the door.

Arnold looked up to the window that his parents had climbed through before, and realized that it was covered with boards and nails.

"Well...that's just great. No escape," Arnold said, standing up.  
"No fresh air either. I'm gonna sweat like a freaking moose," Helga said, jumping to her feet.  
"A moose, Helga?"  
"Yeah. Anyway, let's start working so we can get outta here."  
Helga walked over to the bin and grabbed two grungy rags. She threw one to Arnold.  
"These are dirty," Arnold said, examining the rag.  
"They're ALL dirty, Football Head," Helga replied.

They worked for about an hour in silence. The floors were caked with mud and grime from the guards' shoes. They were about seventy five percent done when Helga spoke up.

"So, what was the oh-so-important thing you had to show me earlier?" She said.  
"I can't talk about it in here," Arnold replied, not looking up from the floor he was cleaning.  
"Yes you can. Use code or something."  
"Yeah, and then someone's gonna hear us and make us decode that."  
"Well, just tell me, is it something that'll help us in any way at all?"  
"Well, yeah, Helga."  
"Good. Because I don't have time for stupid things. I don't want to see some spider web or rock you found."  
"Would you at least be a teeny bit nice today? I got no sleep last night..."  
"Well if you would have gone to bed when you should have, maybe you wou-"  
"Helga. Stop, okay? Please? We're almost done. I'll show you what I need to when we're done, alright?" Arnold interrupted.  
"Fine, Arnold-o, fine."

They finished up the floors and stood up. They had tears in the knees of their pants, and mud all over their clothing and arms.  
But they were finished. Arnold walked up to the door and knocked on it.

"Hey, we're done in here! Hello?" Arnold called.

There was rustling on the outside of the door before it opened.

"Looks pretty good. Now get outside and clean the fire pit," The guard barked, grabbing their wrists and pulling them towards the fire pit.  
Helga groaned and pulled her arm away.

"I've been cleaning all day! Gimme a break, bucko!" She yelled.  
"If you want food, you're gonna clean!" The guard yelled.  
"Maybe I don't want your crappy food!"  
"Fine! You both go hungry tonight!"

The guard pulled the two to the shack and pushed them inside. He slammed the door and locked it.

"I don't want their crappy food. It's slimy..." Helga grumbled.  
"It's fine, we're not eating it ever again. We're leaving tonight," Arnold said, smiling.  
"What are you talking about, Football Head?"  
"Come here, Helga." He walked over to the crate and pulled it from the hole in the ground.  
"WHAT IS THAT?" Helga exclaimed.  
"Our escape," Arnold said, grinning.


	9. Where Did YOU Come From?

"No way! Arnold!" Helga exclaimed, and then proceeded to cover her mouth with her hand.  
They looked around, making sure that the guards didn't hear her.

"Not so loud, Helga," Arnold said, laughing.  
"Yeah, sorry, Football Head. Um. Do you know where this tunnel leads?"  
"No."  
"Then how do you know we're going to escape through it? What if it is a dead end and we get stuck down there?"  
"Then we get stuck."  
Helga glared at Arnold and looked down at the tunnel.

"Eh, well we might as well see where it leads. We have no where else to go, anyway."  
"Okay!" Arnold said, grabbing the luggage. He tossed it down the tunnel.  
"If that leads to water...or LAVA...I'm going to throw you off a cliff, Arnold."  
"Helga."  
"Go. You're first."  
"Ladies first, though."  
"Really? Really. You aren't pulling that 'gentleman' attitude today. YOU'RE FIRST."  
Helga shoved Arnold and he slipped and fell down the tunnel.

"AAAAAAHH!" Arnold yelled as he fell farther down.  
"Not so loud, Arnold-o!" Helga mocked. She chuckled and stared down the tunnel.

She listened for a minute or two before considering following him.  
She sighed and wondered what really was at the end of that tunnel. If it was lava, then...  
Helga's head snapped up.  
WHAT IF THERE_ IS_ LAVA?!  
Helga started to panic. Should she follow him? Get help? Her hands were shaking. She was clenching them so hard that her knuckles were ghostly white.

"Well, Helga old girl, time to be brave for once in your life," Helga said aloud.  
She took a deep breath and jumped down the tunnel.

She was quickly engulfed with darkness. It was a rough fall, it was like a rocky water slide, but without the water. Her ribs were aching so bad and they hurt even more as she fell.  
After what seemed like forever, she saw the end of the tunnel. It wasn't bright, but there was light. As she reached the end of the tunnel, she tumbled upon some really soft grass. She sat there for a minute before quickly shaking her head and composing herself. She stood up and immediately had to sit back down.

"Ohhhhh. My ribs..." She said under her breath. She blinked a few times before trying to stand again. She took a deep breath and looked at her surroundings. She wasn't outside.

Helga stood in a dim cave, floor covered in grass. The walls were covered in hyroglyphics. She walked over to one of them and was surprised at what she saw.

"...Arnold?" She whispered. She touched the carving in the wall and looked closer. She was right. It was a carving of a football headed kid, with spiky hair. Surrounding him was tons of text that she couldn't read. It was written in a language that she could not understand.

She was looking over all the beautiful pictures when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and turned around. It was dark, she couldn't really see who it was. It looked like Arnold, but he wasn't speaking.

"Arnold?!" She yelled, throwing her arms around him. When he didn't hug back, she pulled away slowly. "Arnold?"

"I'm...not Arnold," Said a familiar voice. Not Arnold's voice...but...  
"T-t-then who are you?" Helga squeaked, backing up until her back hit the wall.  
The unknown person stepped closer to her and grabbed her hand.

"Uh...no..." She started to get seriously worried.  
"But Helga."  
"How do you know my name?! Who are you!? "  
"You know who I am."  
"Uh, no I don't." She snatched her hand away from his grasp. "Hands off the merchandise!"  
He went to grab her hand again. She pulled her hands up and away from him, and kicked him in the gut. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!" She screamed.

Helga started to run away, but she stumbled on a rock. She fell and landed hard on her knees.

"AHHH!" She cried in pain. The person stood over her and stared at her, breathing loudly.  
"Come with me, Helga," He spoke. He held out his hand.  
"I'm not going anywhere with you. Where's Arnold?!" She cried.  
"I'll take you to him."  
"You're lying!"  
"Come with me. Let me show you."  
Helga frowned and slowly stood up. She refused to take his hand.

"Fine. But don't touch me!"

They walked for a few minutes deeper into the cave. It was dark except for a few torches on the walls. She still couldn't see the mysterious person.  
After about 5 minutes, they approached a large, wooden door. The person grabbed the large handle and dragged it open.  
Light shined through and Helga peeked into the room. It was another cave, but there was a hole at the top, where so much sunshine flowed through. The cave was covered in moss, and there were purple flowers in various places.

Helga walked in and she got an overwhelming smell of moss. She smiled.

"Wow...this is beautiful..." She turned around to see the person and her mouth dropped open in surprise.

"ARNIE?!" Helga screamed as she backed away as fast as she could.  
*snort* "Helga," He said.  
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

Helga ran down the cave until she found another door. She pushed it open and found Arnold, surrounded by a bunch of people. They were eating fruit, but everyone was silent. They were gawking at Arnold, some were even examining his blonde hair.  
Helga walked in slowly and looked around at the strange people.

"Hey Helga!" Arnold exclaimed.  
"Hey, Arnold... uh..." Helga stuttered. She pointed outside the door. "Arnie...He's..."  
"Yeah...yeah. I don't know either."  
"He is one of us," One of the persons spoke up.  
"Us? I-I mean...you? Who are you?" Helga asked.  
"Yeah, you never told me who you were," Arnold said.

"We are the Green Eyes, young Arnold." The person replied. Arnie walked in through the door and sat next to Arnold. Arnold looked over at his cousin and then back at Helga. Helga's eyes were wide and she shifted from foot to foot.

"YOU'RE THE GREEN EYES?!" Arnold exclaimed.  
"Yes."  
Arnold stood up. "Have you...have you been protecting us?"  
"Yes, Arnold. We have."  
"Oh my gosh. T-t-thank you!" Arnold jumped up and hugged a few of the Green Eyes.  
"You're welcome. You are very cherished here." One older Green Eye replied.  
"Oh, wow...wait. Wait a second. I still don't understand..._YOU_." Arnold pointed at Arnie.  
"Why do you think I never come around much? I live here, Arnold," Arnie said, quietly.  
"Uh..." Arnold muttered.  
"Your aunt and uncle, my parents...are part of the Green Eye tribe. Why do you think you never met them?"  
"...but...wait, I was GOING to...I was going to visit you, remember?"  
"Yes, but you ended up not coming. Do you remember why?"  
"Uh...because I had a freakish nightmare about you and your town."  
"Do you know why?"  
"No?"  
"Arnold, we did that on purpose."  
"You did what now?"  
"We gave you that nightmare on purpose, so you wouldn't come visit. I wouldnt've been there. Me or my parents."  
"How did you give me a-"  
Arnie waved his hand briefly. "No, no."  
"But-"  
"SO YOU FREAKED ME OUT LIKE IT'S NO ONES BUSINESS JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE-" Helga yelled.  
"Arnold, why are you here?" Arnie said, interrupting Helga.  
"My parents."  
"Oh. Miles and Stella. Yes. Now see, we've been trying to get them for a while now. But the village aboveground has too many guards for us to actually safely rescue them."  
"Yeah, we tried already. We got them out and then they caught us..."  
"They have many surveillance cameras around their village. They know what is going on at all times."

Arnold looked up at Helga with a pained expression. Arnie snorted.

"Then what do we do?" Arnold asked.  
"We fight."

Later that night, Arnold and Helga were sitting outside next to the cave entry. They were staring up at the stars, thinking about what was going to happen the next day.

"Do you think we're actually going to get your parents back?" Helga asked.  
"I really hope so, Helga...I really do," Arnold replied.  
Helga took Arnold's hand. "Okay... so, Football Head, are you really gonna fight?"  
"I have to. These are my parents."

Helga looked up at the starry sky. The night was so calm, peaceful and cool. She couldn't fathom the fact that tomorrow, they'd be practically fighting for Arnold's parents' lives...and their own, as well.

"Promise me something." She said.  
"Yeah?"  
"No matter what happens, we stay together. I mean in this fight thing. Don't leave my side...I don't want to worry about you going missing and not being able to find you ever again."  
"Okay, Helga. I promise. We'll stick together."


	10. Time to Fight

**Author note: There's gonna be some fighting in this chapter, so if you don't like violence, here's a friendly warning for you :)  
**

* * *

Arnold and Helga woke up that morning with determination.  
It was a perfect day, sunny skies, warm weather, the works. But there was this tension in the air, knowing the events of the day.

"Good morning, Helga," Arnold said when she walked through the cave door.  
"Morning, Football Head," She replied, grabbing a pancake.  
*snort* "You guys ready to rescue Stella and Miles?" Arnie asked.  
"Heck yes we are!" Helga said, mouth full of pancake.  
"Okay, when you two are finished with breakfast, we need to fill you in on the plan," One of the Green Eyes said.  
"I don't want to hurt anyone." Arnold said.  
"Fine, then I will," Helga said.  
"No, you won't," Arnold replied.  
"Excuse me?"  
"You have a broken rib and bruised knees, Helga, you're not getting hurt any more than you already are."  
"Then how the heck are we going to supposedly fight if we can't actually DO anything!?"  
"We're going to rescue my parents. The Green Eyes can deal with the other stuff."

Helga frowned at Arnold, stood up and left the room. Arnold looked around at the people around him.  
They were all staring at him.

"What?!" He yelled.

Everyone looked away and continued breakfast.

* * *

Around noon, the entire tribe gathered together in the main cave.

"We all need to know this plan front to back. If we slip up, we'll end up having more than 2 hostages. Everyone, stay safe." The main Green Eye leader said.  
"Why didn't you guys do this before? Why'd you wait for us?!" Helga demanded.  
"Because we couldn't do it without Arnold. He's the last piece to the puzzle."  
"Huh?" Arnold asked.  
"It's very hard to explain. But you have a very strong connection with us Green Eyes. Remember your story of how you were born? You stopped a volcano. Since you've been gone, we've felt like something has been missing."  
"But...why me?"  
"We honestly don't know."

Arnold sighed.

"Is everyone ready?" The tribe leader asked.  
Everyone nodded. So out of the cave they went. They walked for at least two miles before they got to the top of the hill, right before the village began.

"Helga are you sure you don't want to just hang here until it's time to go to my parents? Running out into battle isn't exactly a smart idea," Arnold whispered.  
"No, Football Head. I'm joining the fun!" Helga said. "And you're coming with me!"  
She tugged at his shirt sleeve and made him follow the other tribe members.

"Okay. We keep Arnold and Helga safe at all costs. Same with Miles and Stella. Cover them, don't let them get hurt or captured. Do you understand?" The tribe leader ordered the rest of the team.  
"Understood!" They all replied.

They slowly crept past the trees into the village. The guards were all sitting at the fire, eating lunch. Perfect.  
Arnold and Helga were in the back, behind the entire team. They walked slowly, but they were making good time. They went around the village, on the outskirts, so they wouldn't necessarily be spotted right away.

"Where are your parents living? Do you know which shack they're in?" The tribe leader asked.  
"Uh... well one of those, I think," Arnold replied, pointing to a line of small shacks.  
"Alright. LET'S GO, EVERYONE!"

They made it to the shacks, weirdly without any interference. They looked around, and realized that the guards were gone. The fire was abandoned, everything was just...silent.

"This is bad," Arnold whispered. And at that very moment, a hand covered his mouth and pulled him backward.  
"ARNOLD!" Helga screamed. The tribe turned around in horror as guards started carting their tribe members away.  
Helga growled and ran after them.

Guards were chasing her but she kept throwing large sticks and rocks at them as she ran. She caught up to the guard who took Arnold and jumped on his back. He let go of Arnold, and Arnold fell to the ground. Helga pulled at the guard's hair and screamed at him.

"DON'T YOU _EVER _TOUCH HIM EVER AGAIN, DO YOU HEAR ME?!" She screamed. She pinned him to the ground and pointed in his face. "DO YOU?!"

"Yes, ma'am, sorry..." The guard whimpered. She got up and walked away.  
"YOU BETTER BE."

Her and Arnold took off running in the direction of the shacks. Behind them, there was chaos. Green Eyes were dueling with guards.  
La Sombra was no where to be found. Arnold's parents were somewhere, but they couldn't see them.  
They made it to the shacks and kicked the doors in. They were all empty.

"What now?!" Helga yelled in anger.  
"We have to keep looking!" Arnold said.  
"Where?!"  
"Uh...hmmm" Arnold thought, looking around the village. "OH! I KNOW!"  
"What?"  
"La Sombra's shack."

Helga grinned and took Arnold's hand. They ran to find La Sombra.

* * *

When they got there, the shack was barricaded with bricks.

"What the heck is this crap?" Helga yelled, kicking the bricks over.  
"Seriously, if this is supposed to keep us out, they're pretty terrible at doing so," Arnold said, smirking.

After Helga was finished kicking over the bricks, Arnold kicked the door in. The shack was dark.  
They slowly walked in, and the floors creaked. Arnold jumped.

"It was just the floor, Football Head," Helga said.  
"Yeah...yeah, sorry," Arnold replied.

They kept walking until they couldn't see. If they turned around, all they'd be able to see is the door and whatever was in front of it.  
Everything was extremely silent. They could hear their own breathing.  
Just as soon as they were about to turn around and leave, an arrow flew through the air and stuck in the wall, next to Helga.

"WHAT THE HECK?!" Helga screamed.  
"Helga, are you ok?" Arnold asked, panicking.  
"Yeah but I-"

Another arrow flew through the air and hit Helga's arm, but just barely.

"OWWWWWWWWW!" Helga screamed. "IT CUT ME!"  
"Are you okay?!" Arnold asked again.  
"NO."

Helga had her hand on her arm, covering the cut.

"Show me," Arnold said.  
"No. I'm fine," Helga replied.  
"No, you're not!"  
"Stop, Arnold. We need to get out of here before one of those stupid arrows kills us!"  
"They're not going to-"

Another arrow flew through the air and hit the wall behind Arnold.

"Ok let's go." Arnold said quickly. "I think this place is booby-trapped."

They ran through the shack, wherever they could put their feet. They ducked as they ran, and more arrows few by.  
They made it to a door at the end of the shack, a back door, and they ran through it.

Outside the door, there was a path, underneath a roof of tree leaves. They ran through it, and it seemed like it would never end.  
By the time they ran the entire path, which was about a mile, they emerged into a wide open space, which ended with a cliff.

In the middle of it, La Sombra was boarding a helicopter. He had a guard with him, fighting to put Miles and Stella on board. They were kicking and refusing, but he got them on the helicopter. La Sombra turned to the kids and laughed loud enough to hear over the helicopter propellers.

"Well, well. You found me," La Sombra mocked. "What are you going to do about it? Two little children. A football headed kid and an ugly little girl. Really, enlighten me. What are you really going to do?" He smirked.

Helga was fuming. Arnold was clutching his fists so tight that his knuckles were turning white.

"I..SAID...DON'T INSULT ME OR MY FAMILY!" Arnold screamed as he ran toward La Sombra.  
"ARNOLD, NO!" Helga screamed, chasing after him.

La Sombra laughed maniacally, holding onto a rope ladder as the helicopter took flight. It was right over the cliff, almost out of reach, when Arnold jumped off the cliff and grabbed onto the rope ladder. Helga jumped as well, grabbing Arnold's legs.

"WHAT THE FREAKING HECK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, FOOTBALL HEAD?!" Helga screamed, hanging over 500 feet from the ground. La Sombra was sitting in the helicopter, door open, laughing at the children.  
"I'M NOT GIVING UP, HELGA!" Arnold yelled down. "I CAN'T! WE'VE COME TOO FAR!"

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE, ARNOLD!" Helga screamed, looking down at what was below.  
"I WON'T LET YOU DIE, HELGA!" Arnold yelled back down. He started to climb up the ladder, and soon enough, he was high enough so Helga could grab the ladder as well. The ladder was long, but Arnold had gotten about half way up it when he noticed something very wrong.

La Sombra was cutting the rope ladder with a knife. He was going to let them fall!

"NO!" Miles and Stella screamed. They both looked at each other and nodded.  
Miles and Stella both kicked the guard and knocked him out. Miles grabbed his knife and cut the ropes that had been tied to their arms. Now free, Miles crept up to La Sombra and grabbed him.

"Don't you dare hurt my son or his friend!" Miles yelled, wrestling La Sombra to the ground of the helicopter. Arnold and Helga quickly climbed the ladder, stopping at the door when they heard yelling.

Arnold and Helga listened to the fighting when they saw Miles almost get pushed out of the helicopter.

"DAD!" Arnold yelled. He reached up to help, but La Sombra kicked his hands and he fell backward.

He fell backward, trying to grasp the ladder for dear life, but couldn't grasp it. He fell backward away from the ladder, and Helga watched him as he fell, her eyes wide. She had to think fast.  
He fell past her and held out his hand. She quickly grabbed his arm and stopped his fall. She held onto the ladder extremely tight, but she couldn't hold on much longer. Helga pulled Arnold up with all her might, barely able to hold his weight. Her arms were shaking as she tried to keep ahold of his arm.

"GRAB THE LADDER, FOOTBALL HEAD!" She yelled.  
"I'm...trying!" Arnold yelled back up.  
He struggled for a minute but finally got ahold of the end of the ladder. He climbed up and was finally somewhat safe.

"Thanks, Helga," He said, smiling.  
"Yeah, yeah, Football Head. Gah, you weigh a ton!" Helga said, smirking. Then she grinned. "Let's kick this guy's butt."

They quickly climbed back up the ladder and climbed inside the helicopter. It was a huge helicopter. The pilot's quarters were cut off by a wall, so he had no idea what was going on. Arnold and Helga looked to the left, where the guard was tied up to the wall.  
Helga burst out laughing. Arnold looked to the right and saw his dad wrestling with La Sombra. Stella was sitting in one of the chairs, holding her leg. Arnold ran up to her in panic.

"Mom! What happened?!" Arnold yelled.  
"Oh, I'm fine, honey, I just tripped and hurt my leg a little while ago. I'm okay." Stella replied. "Just bruised." She smiled at her son. He sat next to her and hugged her.

Helga, on the other hand, was extremely mad. _  
They hurt his mother. They hurt me. They almost killed Arnold! I am NOT standing for this!_

Helga ran to the door and picked up La Sombra's knife, and she ran to where the two men were fighting. She pushed Miles out of the way and kicked La Sombra. She pinned him to the ground and held the knife in his face.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" She screamed in his face. He was shocked by her. "ARE YOU GONNA ANSWER ME, BUCKO?! HUH?!"  
Arnold, Stella, Miles and the tied up guard looked at Helga in shock as well.

"Where the heck do you get off thinking that it's okay to HURT people?! TO KEEP PEOPLE HOSTAGE?! TO LET THIS POOR KID GO WITHOUT HIS PARENTS FOR HIS ENTIRE LIFE?! HUH?!" She screamed in his face.  
She laughed and continued. "I'm not gonna kill you. I'm not_ THAT_ sick. But I'm going to let you know that if you EVER hurt ANY of my friends or family, you're going to feel the wrath of Helga G. Pataki! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

La Sombra flinched at her screaming.

"ARNOLD." Helga yelled to her left.  
"Y-Yeah?" Arnold said, quietly.  
"Gimme the duct tape."  
"Uh..."  
"NOW!"  
"Ok..."

Arnold walked over to the tied up guard and grabbed the duct tape. He handed it to Helga, took the knife from her and backed away.

"Thank you, Football Head," Helga said, grinning. "Miles. Would you care to help me tie up this guy?"  
Miles went and helped Helga without a word, and they stored La Sombra next to the guard.

"WAIT. I'm not done," Helga said. She walked over to La Sombra and waved her fist in his face. "YOU BETTER REMEMBER WHAT I TOLD YOU, BUCKO," She yelled. She grinned, barged right into the pilot's quarters and demanded to be taken to the airport.

Helga grinned and walked back to Arnold and his parents. She sat next to Arnold and smiled.

"Well. That's taken care of. Let's go home, Football Head," Helga said.  
"Yeah, Helga. Let's go home," Arnold said, smiling.


	11. Epilogue

Everything was pretty insane when Arnold and Helga walked back up the stoop of Sunset Arms. Once they opened the door and Arnold called for his grandparents, all heck broke loose.

Everyone ran towards the door- Pookie, Phil, Ernie, Suzie, Oscar, Mr. Hynn, Phoebe, Gerald, Miriam, Big Bob, Olga, and a few other people from town. Oh, and of course the police were still there. They were there every day.

Arnold and Helga were bombarded by hugs and kisses, everyone was crying and telling them "NEVER do that again!", "You scared us to death!", "You're grounded!", etc. Everyone was squeezing them tight and talking all at once, but once Miles and Stella walked through the door way, everyone froze.

You could hear a pin drop in the boarding house at that moment, it was so quiet. Arnold and Helga grinned from ear to ear as everyone realized what they were seeing before them.

"M-Miles? Stella?" Phil said, unsure.  
"Hey, Dad," Miles said, smiling.  
"MILES!" Phil repeated, running to his son he hadn't seen in years. He hugged him tightly and cried, and Miles did the same. Stella smiled and hugged Pookie.

Everyone was in complete shock. Gerald and Phoebe grabbed Arnold and Helga and took them upstairs to talk.

"So, you gonna tell me why you didn't inform me of your plan?!" Gerald asked Arnold with his arms crossed.  
"I forgot," Arnold said, laughing.  
"Forgot to tell your best friend that you've known since preschool, man?"  
"Yeah. I'm sorry. I was extremely distracted and stressed out."  
"Yeah...I understand." Gerald grabbed Arnold's hand and they did their signature hand shake. "I can't stay mad at you, dude. You know that."

* * *

Helga and Phoebe just stood there, smiling at their friends. As the guys talked, Phoebe took Helga aside and nudged her with her elbow.

"So, tell me about your trip!" Phoebe squeaked, smiling.  
"It was insane, Phoebe," Helga replied.  
"I can tell...you're covered in bruises and cuts!"  
"You wouldn't freaking believe what we went through!"  
"May I ask?"  
"Want the short or long story?"  
"Probably the short one for now."  
"Arrows, rivers, cliffs, airplanes, helicopters, Arnie, guards, Green Eyes, falling trees-"  
"Oh my..."  
"I'm not done."

"WHAT?!" Gerald yelled. Helga and Phoebe were shocked by Gerald's outburst. They looked at the guys in confusion and then turned back to their conversation.

"I don't really want to hear about the dangerous stuff...But I do want to ask, what about...you and...Ice Cream?" Phoebe smiled and nodded toward Arnold.  
"Oh, Pheebs, you wouldn't believe me if I told you!"

Phoebe raised her eyebrows.

"He kissed me!" Helga squealed, but trying to keep her voice low.  
"HE DID?!" Phoebe yelled.

Arnold and Gerald stopped talking and looked at the two girls. Helga frowned and shook her fist at them, and they looked away again.

"Yes, Phoebe! And get this," Helga said, pulling Pheobe closer. "He told me he loves me."  
"Oh, Helga! I'm so happy for you!" Phoebe said, hugging her best friend.  
"Do you think he'll talk about it, though? We haven't said anything to each other about it since we've left San Lorenzo..."  
"Helga, you have to give him time...I'm sure he's extremely overwhelmed. There is SO much going on."  
"I guess..."

* * *

"So, man, how was the trip?!" Gerald asked. "How'd you handle being around Pataki for a month straight?"  
"Gerald..." Arnold replied.  
"What?"  
"Okay, I gotta tell you something before we continue this conversation."  
"What now?"  
"I...umm..."  
"What?!"  
Arnold looked at Helga and Phoebe and lowered his voice. He pulled Gerald closer.

"Okay, I'm just gonna come out and say it," Arnold said.  
"Tell me already!" Gerald said, punching Arnold.  
"Hey, that hurt! I have bruises, you know."  
"Yeah, yeah... come on, man, tell me your secret so you can tell me about your trip."  
"Okay," Arnold took a deep breath. "I...I told Helga that I'm in love with her..."  
"WHAT?!" Gerald yelled.  
"SHHH!" Arnold replied, covering Gerald's mouth. Helga and Phoebe looked at the boys in confusion for a minute and then looked away.  
"MMMPHMPHMPHH!" Gerald mumbled, Arnold's hand still on his mouth. Gerald pried Arnold's hand from his mouth and frowned.  
"Don't look at me like that!" Arnold exclaimed.  
"Really, Arnold? Pataki?! I thought you hated her! She hates you!" Gerald said.  
"I never said I hated her, Gerald."

""HE DID?!" Phoebe yelled. Arnold and Gerald stopped talking and looked at the two girls. Helga frowned and shook her fist at them, and they looked away again.

"I could have sworn you did-" Gerald said.  
"No." Arnold replied.  
"So how'd she handle it? Did she beat you up? Push you in a pile of mud? What?"  
"Not exactly, no."  
"Then what-"  
"I can't really tell you until I talk to her about it."  
"What does that mean?"  
"Let's just say...she may or may not be my girlfriend now..."  
"YOUR WHAT?!"

"Would you pipe down over there?!" Helga yelled over to Gerald.  
"You guys are one to talk!" Gerald replied.  
"Are we really going to fight?" Phoebe asked.  
"No. We're not," Arnold interjected. "We're going to be happy now."  
"Thank you, Arnold."

Helga smiled at Arnold and he smiled back. Gerald looked at the two in confusion and somewhat of disgust. He caught Phoebe glaring at him and he jumped.

"What?" Gerald asked.  
"Be nice, Gerald," Phoebe said, quietly.  
"I am."  
"I'm serious!" She yelled, scaring Arnold, Gerald and Helga.  
"Dang, Pheebs!" Helga said.  
"I want peace... Helga and Arnold are back. Let's go downstairs and party!"  
"Yeah!" Arnold, Helga and Gerald all said in unison.  
"We'll catch up with you guys in like 5 minutes, ok?" Arnold said to Gerald and Phoebe.  
"Ok!" Phoebe replied, pulling Gerald toward the stairs.

After they had gone back down to the living room, Arnold turned to Helga and smiled.

"We're finally back home," He said.  
"Yeah, finally," Helga replied, sighing.  
"See, it wasn't THAT bad."  
"Yes, yes it was, Football Head."  
"Really?"  
"...eh, could've been worse."  
"Right."  
"So..."  
"We kinda should talk about...you know... if we're boyfriend/girlfriend now..."  
"Oh. Yeah... right..."  
"Do you still want to be?"  
"Doi. I mean... if you want to..."  
"I mean I do... but..."  
"Yeah?"  
"You know we actually need to tell people, right?" Arnold said, laughing.  
"Yeah, we kind of HAVE to, Arnold-o."  
"I didn't know what to tell Gerald."  
"Tell him what you want, but if he mocks me, you know I'm going to have to throw him in a dumpster."  
"I know."

Helga smiled at Arnold and kissed him on the cheek.

"Well, we might as well go downstairs before they get mad at us for disappearing again," Arnold said.  
"Yeah. Let's go, Football Head," Helga said.

Arnold took Helga's hand and grinned at her with his goofy smile. She laughed and grinned back.  
They walked, hand in hand, downstairs to the living room, to meet their families again, to get to know Arnold's amazing parents.

As they walked down the stairs, they walked into a new atmosphere, happy and new.

Everything was finally...perfect.


End file.
